Roll Back the Tide
by Twainsyke
Summary: Finished! Thanks you all who hung on till the end; yer super cool. Crossover between Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates & Blue Sub 6. In which a storm arrives in Neverland, bringing a massive oil spill, a strange creature & a whole mess of futuristic trouble
1. The Oil and What it Brought

**Roll Back the Tide**

**_by Twainsyke_**

In young Billy Jukes' opinion, the day could not have started out better. The morning sun shone brightly as soon as it rose, evaporating nearly every trace of the savage storm that had blown over Neverland the night before. What a gullywasher THAT storm had been; the crashing thunder had been almost completely drowned out by the storm's pounding rains. The lightning was just as severe, reaching its white hot fingers across the horizon, blinding fearful watching eyes with its brilliance. The winds had blown so hard it had driven away large branches and sent them straight through the Jolly Roger's sails, all the while howling like a creature tormented.

But now the sun was drying up the soaked island, and creatures all over were coming out of hiding. So would Peter and his band of Lost Boys, especially on a day as fine as this. Assuming that Peter Pan would be twice as eager to pay them a visit on this fine day, Hook had assigned Jukes the position of lookout in the crow's nest while he went off to see that the mainsails were properly repaired. Jukes scanned the skies with the spyglass, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, just the occasional passing gull and a few fluffy white clouds.

As an afterthought, he lowered the spyglass down to where the sky met the seas. It was then that he noticed something strange; it was as if the fine line separating the sky and sea had grown bolder. He blinked, rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, and brushed his thick black hair from his eyes before looking through the spyglass once more. He had not imagined it; the line was now even thicker than before. He was so busy gaping that he didn't hear the sound of Robert Mullins, his shipmate, climbing up to stand beside him, and didn't even acknowledge his presence until he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"What's on yer mind, lad? You've been starin' out to sea for the past several minutes. You see somethin' out there?" Jukes stopped peering through the spyglass and looked at Mullins thoughtfully. "Well, I'm not sure, but...something doesn't look right out there." He handed Mullins the spyglass and pointed. "Take a look. Doesn't it look like there's something out there in the water?" Mullins frowned as he looked. It appeared to be something huge moving rapidly in their direction; dark and taking up a very large part of the visible sea. A sense of uneasiness overcame the pirate; the same uneasiness he got whenever he sensed evil afoot. Just as he lowered the spyglass, Hook's voice reached their ears. "Jukes! Mullins! You dead-eyed lollygagging dolts! Get down here at once and give your report!"

They both began to climb down, neither of them wanting to be the first to reach the deck. Jukes was the unfortunate one, and no sooner had his feet hit the deck when Hook's hook had him by his bandanna and dangling several inches from the ground. "I couldn't help but observe, Mister Jukes, that your attention seemed to be diverted toward the ocean rather than the mainland, where since I last perceived, Peter Pan flies from. Explain yourself, else I cleave you from stem to stern!" Before Jukes could inform his captain in a choked voice that to explain himself he needed to breathe, he was roughly thrown onto the deck and into the enormous shadow of his glowering captain. He stayed down as he spoke. "Well captain, I was lookin' for Pan at first, but then I chanced to look out to sea. Something strange is going on with the water."

"Something strange, says you, Mister Jukes? Is it even remotely within your meager abilities for you to be more specific?"

Mullins suddenly jumped in. "Sir, I saw it too, and havin' more seagoin' experience than the lad, I can tell you it looks like there's some sort of impurity in the water. Here, have a look for yourself." Hook snatched the offered spyglass and peered into it, although he didn't need the glass's magnification to see it now; it was closer than ever. Hook's frown was immense as he lowered the glass and turned to his crew. "Well, whatever devilry this is we shall soon know. Smee! You and Mason ready the longboat. The two of you shall row out there and collect a sample of that tainted tide. Bring it here, that I may determine the enigma that is infecting this isolated piece of the ocean."

The two worked quickly, for they too wanted to know what it was. It was now closer than before, only several hundred feet away from the opening of Kidd Creek Bay. Hook watched rather impatiently as the longboat grew smaller and was actually lost from view amid the murky dark water. Several minutes passed, though it seemed like hours before the rest of the crew saw the longboat sailing back toward the Jolly Roger. Mason was the first to climb aboard, with a bucket of the strange water in hand. Without a word he dumped its contents onto the deck; slick, smelly, dark water. The pirates recoiled as Mason turned to Hook. "Its oil, Cap'n; no doubt about it. The ocean's full of it."

Oil? The pirates looked at each other wordlessly, then out to sea, as if they expected to see the smoke or incoming debris of a wrecked ship, but there was nothing but the oil. Finally they all stared at Hook. His blue eyes swirled with turmoil, like forget-me-nots bowing under a gale, and his face had suddenly become as expressionless as though it were made of stone. He ordered curtly for Mason to mop up the oily water, then without another word he retired to his cabin, where he locked the door and paced, alone with his thoughts.

"Wendyyyyyyyyy!" The small cry echoed in the early afternoon air as Wendy flew to the shore edge to investigate. What she saw took her breath away. The water was oily as far out as she could see. Dead fish, black seaweed and strange debris littered the shore, soaking in inky puddles. There was Nibs, Slightly, Curly, and the Twins, pulling Michael out of the shallow water. The Lost Boys were tainted black up to their knees, but poor Michael was almost covered in it. Wendy found it hard to believe that not half a day ago the water had been as clear as it had always been, and now it was full of glossy, smelly oil, swirling around in a hundred bent rainbows. She ran at once to Michael and used the hem of her dress to wipe his face while Nibs told her what had happened. "We were just heading to the shore to go for a swim, when Slightly here said the water up ahead looked 'slightly strange'. We all stopped, but Michael ran on ahead and went right in. He started to yell, so we ran in to pull him out."

Michael looked at Wendy, shaking all over and tears in his eyes. "I was afraid; the water felt really funny and it smelled bad. I was afraid I couldn't get out." Wendy held him close and assured him that he was safe. She looked up in time to see the twins examining some of the strange debris that had collected on the beach. Most of it was too warped and damaged to identify; scraps of cloth, bits of plastic, nothing very interesting. But what puzzled her most was that there was no wood among all that debris, save for the usual piece or two of driftwood that floated ashore ever so often. A spill this serious could only have been caused by a damaged ship, but how could a ship get damaged or sink without having a single piece of wood drift away? The ship had to have been wrecked somehow; no one would do such a thing as this on purpose. But there was no wood; no evidence of a ship save for a few strange pieces of plastic and cloth. For all she knew, it may not have been a ship at all. But if it wasn't a ship than what was it that had been carrying all this oil?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Curly's voice. He was flying a few feet off the ground and peering out at the first hundred or so feet of tainted ocean. "Hey, look at that over there. What do you suppose that is?" He was pointing to a long, white object, nearly as big as a full-grown person, floating among the oily water, rising and falling as the billows carried it closer to shore. Save for a large white spot on the very top, the object was covered in oil. Curly started to fly out to retrieve it, but Wendy stopped him. "You boys are already messy enough without going back out there to chase things in the water. If you really want to know what it is, why don't you wait until it reaches the shore? Then you can take a look at it."

Curly reluctantly agreed, and all eyes were on the object as it slowly floated closer and closer. Finally, it came to rest on the sand; a large clump covered in oily seaweed. Curly was the first to run over and start brushing off the flotsam clinging to the object. Suddenly as he brushed a large kelp leaf away, he gave a yell and drew back like he'd been stung. The others leaped away and stared at Curly, who was looking at the mound with an expression of horror on his tanned face. Wendy walked over and looked at the spot where Curly had been brushing the kelp away, and gasped. Right where the leaf had been, there was a small hole that was unmistakably a mouth. It was lined top and bottom with razor sharp teeth, which along with the rest of the mouth was stained with oil. Seeing that it wasn't moving, Wendy knelt down and quickly began to clear the rest of the seaweed away, signaling the boys to help her. When they had cleared it all away, they looked down at the creature they had uncovered.

It was about the size of a mermaid, and clearly female, but definitely not a mermaid. Instead of a tail, legs were visible, looking almost human save for their lack of toes and the transparent fins sticking out of them. There were tiny clawed hands that were starting to unconsciously clutch at the wet sand, with the same odd black marks and fins that existed on the creature's legs. Two small pink objects that resembled wings protruded from her chest and clung there like a pair of water weeds. Looking at the head one could see short, messily cut hair that could have been any color but for the oil soaking it and dripping onto the sand. There were long tapered ears, and two large, faded orange circles; the creature's closed eyes. Except for the hands, the creature was motionless, oil trickling out of its mouth and a few small sounds from its throat that could only be its labored breathing.

Wendy and the boys continued to stand there and stare with their mouths open at the half-dead creature. Little Michael was the first to break the silence. "What is that, Wendy?" She held Michael close as she kept her gaze fixed on the creature. "I don't know, Michael. I'm sure _I've_ never seen one before." Slightly was the first to walk up to it and take a good look. He listened to the sounds it was making and straightened up. "If you ask me, this thing is slightly in need of assistance. And a good cleaning too. All that oil can't be good for it." Not to be outdone, Nibs placed his hands on his hips sarcastically. "Well of course it isn't good for it! Come on; we have to get it to some water. Since the ocean's polluted, how about we try the Mermaid's Lagoon? That's probably the cleanest body of water at the moment."

Wendy smiled. "What a good idea, Nibs!" Slightly muttered something under his breath while Wendy flew off to get some rags and clean water from the Underground House. Once she returned, they proceeded to wash the oil off, adding a little soap when the oil became stubborn, until the creature was oil-free. They could now see the creature's purplish-grey hair and the sky blue and white skin. But her eyes were still screwed shut, and her breath was still ragged. "Now," said Nibs once they were done, "Let's get it to the Lagoon." He walked over casually and picked the creature up underneath her arms.

Suddenly, the eyes flew open, and they all caught a glimpse of two bright orange orbs before the head lunged downward at Nibs' left arm. He yelled and dropped his load, which fell with a thud onto the sand. He grasped his arm painfully, blood seeping through his fingers. "It-it bit me! That thing bit me!" He let go of his arm to expose the wound; about six deep marks in a half circle on his arm. As Wendy bandaged the bite with a leftover rag, Nibs glared at the creature. "I was only trying to help it! Why'd it have to go and bite me?" Slightly hid a smile. "Well, maybe it doesn't like being touched by grimy humans."

Nibs glared at Slightly, but Wendy nodded, not seeing any direct insult in the remark. "You're probably right. It must not be used to being touched. Twins, why don't you two build a stretcher, and we can take it to the Lagoon that way." The Twins nodded, and in no time they had assembled a stretcher big enough to support the creature, and light enough to still be easy to carry when soaked in water. They carefully put the creature into the stretcher and proceeded to carry her to the Lagoon. She made no resistance, but once or twice she raised her head and made a few noises that reminded Wendy of a distressed cat. But after a few times the creature ceased and continued to lie there and be transported.

Finally they reached the Lagoon. The twins, who were the carriers, waded out into the shallows, and lowered the stretcher into the water. At first the creature remained still, but after a few seconds the orange eyes opened again, and it gracefully slid out of the stretcher and into the water. It whirled around and poked its head halfway out, looking at the group standing on the shores of the Lagoon, watching to see what it would do next. For several long seconds the creature stared back at them, then suddenly with a soft splash it dove back under and disappeared into the Lagoon's clear waters.

For hours on end it seemed as if the only sound to be heard on board the Jolly Roger was the steady ceaseless pounding of Hook's footsteps as he paced inside his cabin. An eerie sort of quiet had settled over the craft ever since the incident with the oily water. Even though the evidence had long since been mopped from the deck, it was no longer necessary to see that over half of the waters surrounding the small island had been contaminated with oil. The air reeked of oil and dead fish; not a single gull could be seen or even heard voicing its complaints to the sky, which was as clear as it was that morning. The pirates themselves went about their business, but quietly, as if they feared any sound would just make things worse.

"The captain still in his cabin?" Starkey whispered as Smee appeared on deck. "Aye that he is," Smee said, a note of annoyance in his voice, "And he told me 'e didn' want to be bothered by anyone, so you can just go back to yer duties an' mind you keep it down." Starkey shrugged and walked over to Mason, who had overheard the conversation and was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Now this is a rum puzzle an' no mistake." he said as Starkey approached, "True there's oil all over in the water, but the capn's been less upset by worse. Why's he all shook up now? Don' make much sense if'n ya ask me." Starkey just nodded, as if he was only listening with half an ear. He had his own thoughts about all this to occupy him; he didn't need Mason's.

Silence continued to reign on the vessel. Even Cookson, as he stirred his pot full of unidentifiable sludge, was not to be heard whistling or even humming. The same question drifted about in the minds of everyone on board; what, they wondered, was drifting about in the mind of their captain?


	2. Trouble at the Lagoon

In the depths of the Mermaid's Lagoon, where thanks to magic there wasn't a drop of oil to be found, an uproar was heard beneath its calm surface. First was the mermaid who swam through the grotto so swiftly she uprooted the seaweed, crying out about having seen some new and terrible monster in another part of the Lagoon. Then came the group of three, who said they were out basking near Marooner's Rock when they saw some creature lurking beneath the surface, staring at them with glowing reddish eyes. Last was the mermaid who reported seeing something hovering over a fresh pile of fish skeletons while she was out gathering shells to string into a necklace.

"I'm telling you, I saw it! It was horrible, like a shapeless blob with evil red eyes."

"Red? Are you colorblind? They were orange!"

"It had something like fins near the back; it has to be some kind of fish."

"But I heard it hiss when I threw my basket of seashells at it. Fishes don't hiss."

"Maybe it's some kind of sea snake."

"A snake that eats fish and leaves the skeletons? Besides, it was much too big."

"There were at least ten skeletons there in the pile. What an appetite it has! I hope it doesn't think WE are fish as well!"

"No need to worry; you're way too ugly to eat anyway."

"You're the ugly one, prune-face!"

"Seaweed head!"

The mermaids argued long into the day. By the time the rays of the setting sun had touched the murky water and cast eerie rainbows all over its surface, the mermaids were no closer to figuring out exactly what was terrorizing them.

Their bickering soon reached the ears of Old Crooked Tail as she rode past the grotto in her chariot. At first it just sounded like one of their usual petty squabbles about their looks or Peter Pan, but as she drew nearer, she heard her name. Mildly interested, she slowed her chariot and listened in.

"What if it was just Old Crooked Tail?"

"Oh don't be dumb. I know she's capable of scaring anything, but like I said, it didn't have a tail! And I know she's ugly, but she doesn't have glowing red eyes."

"Orange! They were orange!"

"Hey, maybe she created the monster or summoned it to terrorize us!"

"Maybe...well, who's going to go find out?"

"How about you?"

"But it was your idea!"

"Don't be stupid, stupid; it was yours and you know it!"

Suppressing a smile, Crooked Tail continued on her way. That lot would argue the salt out of the water if they were allowed to. Still...she rubbed her chin thoughtfully...rumors of something strange in the Lagoon should be investigated. She flicked the reigns of her chariot and sped away, deciding to begin her search close to the shore, where Peter and the Lost Boys sometimes played.

As she entered the shallower waters, she saw something dart behind a large rock at her approach. It was about the right size for a mermaid, but it moved more like a human swimmer. Unafraid, Crooked Tail got out of her chariot and inched closer until she was right on the other side of the rock. The creature didn't appear again, but Crooked Tail could feel the ripples it made as it fidgeted like a cornered animal. Finally, Crooked Tail decided to chance a small peek. She crept close to the rock and slowly looked over it; right into a pair of wild, orange eyes. The creature apparently had decided to peek at its pursuer at the exact same moment. Looking at it, Crooked Tail wasn't frightened, but dreadfully curious. Here was something she had never seen before. Like a human, yet like a fish. There were even some unmistakably feline features as well. Truly one of the strangest things she had ever seen, even in this land where strange things were as common as seaweed and sand.

For a time they stared at each other. The creature was obviously scared; it had the look of one wanting more than anything to bolt. Its eyes were wide and frightened, and its body was tensed, ready to flee when the opportunity came. Crooked Tail thought for a moment; would this creature understand fish talk? Or even human speech? Worth a shot, anyway. She tried to put on a friendly smile as she said, in very clear English, "Well! Don't think I've seen you around before! New to the Lagoon, dear?"

The creature cocked its head. It looked less tense and frightened, but it looked as if it didn't understand what was being said to it. Crooked Tail tried again, this time in fish talk. "I haven't seen you around here. Are you new here?"

This time comprehension flickered in the creature's eyes. Its mouth opened, and a strange sound came forth; distinctly female, and more like whale song than anything else. Except words were strung in.

"Not long. Not even on purpose."

"Hmmmm," said Crooked Tail. "How did you get here?"

The answer came quicker and more clearly this time. "Humans carried me here. They saved me from the oil. I am wondering, where am I?"

Crooked Tail's eyes widened. "You mean you don't even know where you are?"

The creature shook her head. "I remember nothing of this place."

"Hmmm," said Crooked Tail again. For a long time she just stared at the creature. Finally, she said, "Well! This much I figure: you haven't been around until today, and today there was a massive oil spill that came from who knows where. You must have come from the same place as that oil, but you must have been hurt by it or else the Lost Boys wouldn't have found you floating around with the flotsam and jetsam. Explains why you can't remember anything. I advise you to stay away from the waters until they can be cleaned again. As for where you are, might as well tell you; you're on an island they call 'Neverland'. The other mermaids and I make our home in this Lagoon. You can stay here for now, but I think you should steer clear of the other mermaids; you've given them quite a scare so far. Not that I have any objection to that, of course." She chuckled.

The creature looked thoughtful, and as she half-heard Old Crooked Tail bidding her farewell, she said one thing to herself as she watched her new friend climb back into her chariot and ride away; "Neverland. So……it does exist."

Less than an hour later, all of the faeries that inhabited the island were gathered within the Home Tree on Small Monday Island, debating on what they could do to be rid of the oil that was polluting Neverland and slowly choking all of the sources of fresh water the life on the island relied upon. After a short debate, an agreement was made for the faeries to pool their magic together, gather as much of the oil as they could out of the water, and send it all down to Wherever like so much dirty water being drained from a tub. After all, it was reasoned, someone had obviously lost the oil, and there was plenty of room for it in the land where everything lost ended up.

Before the sun had set that day, it had been done; those who witnessed it saw a huge, black whirlpool appear out of the blue, moving around the shoreline and getting blacker and shinier as it went, finally coming to rest in the middle of the Mermaid's Lagoon, where it seemed to sink down into the water, finally dissolving into nothing, and all around the island not a speck of oil was to be found. The faeries then dispersed, much of their magic exhausted, while the rest of the island celebrated the cleansing of Neverland's waters.

At least, most of the rest of the island. On board the Jolly Roger, the same somber air hung about, thick with gloom and uncertainty. At first, the pirates had celebrated like the rest, but it was not long before one of them noted that their captain was not there celebrating with them. Smee had adjusted his glasses thoughtfully as he made his way to Hook's quarters. He had squared himself at the door, but before he could knock, out strode Hook, fairly shoving Smee out of the way as he swiftly walked onto the deck in the midst of the celebrating crew.

Upon seeing him, the jubilant noise had died down instantly. Hook's face looked drawn, as though he hadn't had any rest in days. The spark that fueled his angry blue eyes looked more like a fire that had been allowed to die down to a smolder. And instead of yelling loud enough to dislodge the seagulls from the rails, he hadn't seemed to care at all that his crew had been momentarily neglecting all of their duties. Smee had bustled up behind him, his glasses askew, stating the obvious in his reedy voice. "I was comin' to tell ye, Cap'n sir, that the oil's been cleaned up, an' the water's as shipshape as when we first laid eyes on it."

Hook had just stared out at it, his eyes like two pools of the now clear water. All of the pirates had shifted themselves uneasily, unsure of what their captain might do. Then, without a word, Hook had whirled around and walked back to his cabin, where the sound of the slamming door seemed to rock the entire ship. Now the pirates didn't dare continue celebrating. They returned to their chores quietly, but each crew member chanced to look more than once in the direction of the captain's quarters.

The instant he was inside his quarters, Hook had rushed over to the window and thrust it open. He stared out over the waters, as if expecting them to still be slick and black. Instead, the same calm sea that had greeted him and his crew that morning was there. He stood there for a long time, his hands thrust behind his back, the salty breeze blowing in and playing with tendrils of his white hair until it swished unchecked over his troubled blue eyes.

Far out to sea, many miles from Neverland's shores, the water remained placid, as still and calm as ever, save for the occasional, inoffensive ripple. Suddenly, the surface was broken by what appeared to be a silvery-grey creature rearing its tiny head out of the water. Had anyone been around to actually witness the creature's appearing, they would have thought that it was one of the strangest creatures they had ever seen, even in Neverland.

It appeared to be nearly all neck, and directly in the center of its face was a large, lidless eye; glassy, dark and empty. Had they been able to see beneath the surface of the ocean, they would have perceived something massive, looking for the entire world like a huge minnow with no fins. Its color was a deep blue, almost purple, and it hung suspended in the water, a jet of water and bubbles shooting out from the back end. This was something Neverland truly had never seen before; a submarine.

"Periscope up and functioning, sir."

Captain Alexander Scarret of the _Corback _massaged his temples as a weary sigh escaped him. _At least one damn thing seemed to be working. _All around him, reports began to ring out on the condition of the rest of his vessel.

"Screw's moving normally, but a little slow."

"Minimal damage to bottom decks. Water leakage not critical."

"Trim tanks appear to be undamaged, sir."

"Sound signals up and running. Currently not detecting anything hostile."

"Can't get any sort of frequency on the radio, sir."

Scarret slowly lifted his head and met the eyes of his crew, who at his gaze slowly fell silent. What his crew saw was a man still in his prime but already with the hardened air of a seasoned veteran. Neatly trimmed auburn hair flecked with gray framed a clean-shaven, no-nonsense face, enforced by steely grey eyes and a deep frown. His standard captain's uniform was crisp and without a wrinkle.

His was a commanding and therefore comforting presence to his shaken crew. Most of them were outwardly as calm as though they had been through an ordinary squall, but the confusion in their eyes was plain. Normally, at this time he would review the situation and communicate a plan based on said situation. But he was currently as confused and frustrated as his crew.

The last thing he remembered, his submarine had been chasing down a group of Muteo; hideous aquatic hybrids created by a madman bent on waging war with the remnants of mankind. The _Corback, _one of several special elite submarines specifically designed to counter these odd assailants, had been escorting a freighter carrying a supply of oil to be delivered to a base off the coast of America.

The demonic creatures had been caught trying to sabotage some of the _Corback_'s torpedo tubes so that any torpedoes launched would jam and detonate right there on board. Upon being discovered, they had scattered like minnows, but not before a crewmember in a Grampus had launched himself out and taken them by surprise. Three of the vermin had been shot to pieces; the rest had fled, with the _Corback _in hot pursuit.

Scarret clenched his fists, remembering the first time he had seen a Muteo. It had seemed revolting to him, especially its glancing resemblance to a human woman. The rest of it was far from human: long clawed hands, fins protruding from the back of its arms and legs, growths on its chest like little wings, sharp little teeth like a shark's, and those eyes; those evil glowing eyes.

As far as he was concerned, every last one of those monsters should be wiped from the face of the Earth. Never mind that they were once human; now they were a part of the enemy's ranks, and should be taken down just as mercilessly.

They had pursued the group, unaware that they had chased them right into a storm raging on the ocean's surface. Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive waterspout had reached down and landed right above the pursuit. The Muteo had been sucked up into it like dust mites in a vacuum, and the _Corback _was spun around by the force as though it was little more than a toy boat in a bathtub.

The crew had battled for what seemed like hours, keeping the sub in once piece, when the raging storm finally lost interest in the _Corback_, dropping it like a forgotten plaything as it continued to rage on Northward. The sub had slowly sunk to the bottom of the ocean with half their equipment non-functional and their entire surroundings a cloud of oil; the amount of oil staining the water told all that the freighter had also battled the waterspout, and lost. When the _Corback_ reached the bottom, it lay there, in complete darkness, while the crew had struggled to regain themselves and piece together what had happened to them.

When the oil had finally cleared, Scarret had given the order that they surface, checking for damages and the like. Thus far, everything seemed to be working normally, but they still had no idea where they were.

"Captain, I've sighted land. Due North, sir; the same direction that storm went."

Scarret strode over and positioned himself in front of the periscope. Sure enough, a tiny dot was visible on the horizon; an island indeed, but a very small one.

"Your orders, sir?"

Scarret gazed thoughtfully through the periscope, the wheels in his mind whirling. His mission was a disaster, the freighter was lost and the Muteo had disappeared, more than likely they had all perished in the waterspout. Although the radio was working, they had been unable to make contact with anyone. The _Corback_ was still seaworthy, despite being roughed up a bit by the waterspout, but not knowing where in the ocean they were, who knew how long that would last. That also considering, he wasn't sure how long their supplies would last with this unexpected detour. There wouldn't be any harm done if they made for the island; the crew could stretch their legs, and if their luck held, they may make contact with another sub, radio or otherwise. Worth a shot, anyway.

"Cob."

"Sir?"

"Head for that island."

"Aye, sir."


	3. Umi Tamashii

The next day was the very picture of a Neverland day; the sun bright as a new penny, the ocean sparkling like a great blue sapphire, and a few playful clouds chasing each other across the robin's-egg-blue sky. It was, as some of the islanders were to be seen observing, a perfect day to play on the beach.

The entire troupe of Lost Boys were there, splashing in the shallows, dunking each other, and trying to swim out to the deeper waters, where the Mermaids were seen playing with bubbles that bounced like beach balls, and were nearly the same size. But every time a Lost Boy got remotely close, they would vanish with a splash of seawater and a flick of their tails, only to reappear even farther out. Eventually, the Lost Boys stopped trying to reach them and just enjoyed the salty sea air and the sunshine.

One Lost Boy however, wasn't joining in on the fun. Tootles, the smallest Lost Boy and by far the youngest (second only to Michael in the entire group), sat on a rocky ledge that began at the shore and reached out several yards into the sea, watching the others play. The waves seemed to sense the boy's discontent and refrained from crashing against the rocks and doing more than soak his bare feet. Tootles sat there, in a less than happy mood, the words of his fellow Lost Boys buzzing in his ears like angry bees:

"Sorry Tootles; you're just too slow."

"You're too little, Tootles. You'd best stay here."

"How come we get Tootles? He'll slow us down!"

"Oh sorry Tootles, didn't see you there."

"You missed it, Tootles!"

"You're too small, Tootles."

"You're just not fast enough, Tootles."

He grumpily picked a rock off of the outcropping and threw it, watching it fall into the sea with a PLOP and vanish without a trace. That was how he felt; swallowed up by his world and feeling like a tiny rock in a sea of activity. He was always too small, too slow, too boring, and too late. He never seemed to be there in time for an adventure, his pudgy build made him slower than the others, the only one he surpassed in height was Michael, and his quiet, gentle nature made him borderline boring. As always, he had taken his fellow's remarks with a grain of salt, but sometimes he just got tired of being left behind, tired of missing out. 'If only,' he thought, 'If only I could be first at something instead of last. Maybe the first to discover something new and fantastic, or the first to defeat a new enemy that no one even knew was there. Then they would be fighting to have me along; maybe even insist that I be the scout or the guard! Now THAT would be fantastic.'

As Tootles sat there dreaming of all this, he suddenly heard a CRACK! right beside him. He jumped, then looked down to his right. There, sticking out from the formation like a bump on the head was the rock he had just thrown into the sea. He picked it up and stared at it, then looked over to where he had thrown it. There he saw half of a head sticking out of the water, regarding him with a pair of bright orange eyes. Immediately Tootles thought, 'This must be the creature that Nibs and the others found and rescued.' He sat as still as he could, hoping that the creature wouldn't be frightened of him. As if reading his mind, it slowly began to swim toward him, until her head was right in front of his feet. Here, she raised her head out of the water, and looked at him with interest.

"It's okay", Tootles heard himself say, "I won't hurt you. Do you want to stay here and keep me company?"

In answer, the creature put forth it's long white arms and hoisted itself up onto the ledge, where it sat beside Tootles, her long fin-like feet tucked underneath her instead of dangling in the water. Tootles fidgeted; not only was the creature bigger than he'd thought, but as she let out a long exhalation, he caught a glimpse of those sharp teeth that Nibs had spoken so angrily of.

"My n-name's T-Tootles." he offered.

She turned to face him. Her mouth opened, and the word 'Yulio' reached his ears; rather high-pitched and irritating, but understandable. As he tried to think of something else to say, Yulio suddenly put a thin, clawed hand on his shoulder and spoke two words. 'Umi Tamashii'

Tootles blinked. "I-I beg your pardon? What's Umi Tamashii?"

Now it was Yulio's turn to blink. She stared at him with surprise and awe before suddenly letting loose with a torrent of mews and whistles, which oddly enough, he had little trouble deciphering. "I knew it! I sensed it in you. You have Umi Tamashii; a sea soul. You have a special connection with the sea." Yulio paused and looked earnestly at Tootles. "You even understand me, right now, don't you?"

Tootles had winced as she had chattered, and smiled in spite of himself. "I rescued a baby whale from Hook once; maybe that's how I got an Umi-whatsis. I understand you alright, but your voice kind of hurts; it sounds like cats fighting."

Yulio smiled back, showing her disturbingly sharp teeth. "You have the understanding of the sea, and that is very special. Not many humans appreciate it as you do." She suddenly tightened her grip on Tootles' shoulder. "If my land voice disturbs you, come to the sea with me, and we can speak better there."

Tootles looked from her to the sea, the sun glinting on the waves. "Well, I'm not a very good swimmer; and besides, I can't breath underwater like you."

Yulio waved her other hand. "I can take care of that. You just have to put your trust in me. Will you?"

Tootles looked into Yulio's eyes. They seemed so strange, so inhuman. And yet... He suddenly realized the entirety of the situation. Here he was, talking to a fish creature, deciding whether or not to let it take him out to sea where he might never return and never be found. A smile began on his face and grew. Here was an adventure that he was certain would always be his alone. Yulio could have gone to any of the others, but she had come to HIM. He had the gift, she said; an appreciation of the sea that allowed him to understand her and maybe even the entire ocean better than the others. An Umi Tamashii. For once he was first to an adventure, and there was no way he was going to miss it.

He beamed at Yulio. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Returning his smile, Yulio moved her hand down his shoulder until they sat there, hand-in-hand. In one fluid motion, the pair slid off the rocks and into the sea.

Wendy, being the mother figure, was the first to notice that Tootles hadn't been seen for a while. She gently lifted off the beach and flew over to where the boys were engaged in a ferocious splashing contest. "Have you boys seen-" Before she could get any farther, a splash of water hit her full in the face, and she had to hover there and wipe her face off with her dress, accompanied by the inevitable chorus of "He did it!"s. When she could finally see without tearing, she composed herself and asked again. "Have any of you seen Tootles?"

She was met with blank stares. Finally, Nibs scratched his head and said, "I think I might have seen him over by those rocks." He pointed to the outcropping where Tootles had indeed been sitting some time ago. "What was he doing over there anyway?" Wendy asked. "Why wasn't he playing with you?"

Slightly shrugged. "I did notice he looked slightly cross when we set out. Maybe he was still slightly sore from missing the adventure we had with the creature."

"Of course," Wendy said, "Poor Tootles; he always seems to miss out." She cast a stern eye over the Lost Boys. "But you guys shouldn't rub it in his face the way you tend to do. How would you feel if you constantly missed out and you were always teased about it?" The boys looked so uncomfortable at this point that Wendy immediately softened up. "Don't worry; let's just spread out and find him. Let's start over at those rocks."

When they reached the rocks, they immediately knew that Tootles had been there; his shoes were still lying there where he had taken them off to splash in the waves. Wendy's first thought was one of horror; Tootles had been scooped up by a wave and washed out to sea. She almost panicked, but remembering that mothers should never panic in front of their children, lest they become panicked also, she gathered the Lost Boys close.

"Okay; here's what we're going to do. Slightly, you and Nibs fly out to sea and look around in case he got carried out there by the tide. Twins, you cover the woods, and make sure to search everywhere, not just above the trees. John, Michael and I will search the beaches in case he just wandered off looking for shells. And if any of you run into Peter, let him know so he can search too." _If only he was back_, Wendy thought unhappily. Peter had gone out on an adventure earlier that morning, and tended to stay away for hours, even days. He could have really helped the search with his good eyes and fast flying. But he wasn't here, and they were going to have to make do.

As the group split up and made their way across Neverland, Nibs and Slightly flew out to sea until the island seemed almost to vanish, completely unaware that they had been spotted, and were being watched.

"Um, sir?"

"What is it, Cob?"

"I think you'd better see this for yourself, sir."

Sighing, Scarett rose from his command chair and walked over to where the periscope operator was goggling at the lens as intently as if he was peeping through a keyhole to a ladies dressing room. Without a word, he moved aside to let his captain peer through the lens.

At first, all Scarett saw was water, a bit choppy but nonetheless tranquil. He was about to turn and tell the man just what he intended to do to him and any others who wasted his time, when a flicker of movement caused him to refocus on the outside. His eyes widened as he saw what was unmistakably a _child_, dressed in rags,flying close to the water, just close enough for the spray to moisten his shoes. He appeared to be calling something, but Scarret couldn't make it out; 'Tools' or something along those lines, if the lip movement suggested anything.

As he watched, a second child came into view. They had a short conversation, and then they flew off, toward the same island he and his crew had been heading for.

Scarett's brain reeled. Flying children. How was it possible? Flying children were for fairy tales, useless garbage promoting fanciful worlds and feeble concepts like 'happily ever after.' Scarett had learned long ago the folly of such thinking. In his world, happily ever after was out of reach forever, and would never be within reach again, if it ever was at all.

_It's him, _he thought suddenly. _Zorndyke. That maniac's gone even farther now than morphing humans; he's made them look more like us. Conquering the sea wasn't good enough for that bastard; he wants to conquer the air too. And with little children; how low could he sink?! He's going down for this if I use my very last breath to do it! _

Scarett released the handlebar to the periscope, not seeming to notice that he had gripped it so hard that his palm was deeply imprinted with the texture of the bars.

"Cob!"

"Sir?"

"Continue our present course. But keep on full alert. This goes for all of you," he said as he faced his crew. "I'm convinced now that this is enemy territory. I want stealth, people; we're going in, but we have to be quiet about it. If we're lucky, we may catch them by surprise, and Zorndyke will have one less base for him to lurk in and tamper with the laws of God and nature." A flurry of salutes answered his statement; the crew was too subdued to cheer. As Scarett returned to his chair, each and every crew member gave his duty the utmost attention, and the submarine continued to move in closer to Neverland.

Tootles tried hard not to panic as he was engulfed by salt water. He had taken as deep a breath as he could before they had submerged, but as Yulio began to take him farther from the shore, his need for air seemed to grow in his mind until all he could think about was taking his very next breath. He turned his head to look at Yulio, and half his breath left his mouth in a whoosh of surprise.

Yulio's arm and leg fins were growing right before his eyes. Veins stood out on them like a bat's wing, and they seemed to glow and pulsate the more they grew. Yulio's eyes burned fiery orange, like a twin pair of fairy lanterns. As he took all this in, he realized that as the fins grew still bigger, they merged with each other, surrounding him until he was suspended in a glowing, pulsating cocoon of living flesh, with Yulio spread out on top like a starfish. Unable to hold on any longer, he let out the rest of his breath, and was relieved to discover that he could breath in his cocoon, though the air smelled rather odd, like fish and wet cat.

Yulio peered through the membrane at Tootles; he could see her lantern eyes as two hazy points of light. "Are you allright, Too-tles?" she asked. Tootles noticed right away that Yulio's voice had become much more pleasant; it reminded him of whale song.

"I'm fine," he replied. He carefully reached out and touched the membrane wall; it stretched a little, and he could feel the pulse, sounding now like a heartbeat. "How did you do this?"

Yulio took a few minutes to reply. "It's just something we do. No one has ever questioned it that I know of. Now that I think on it, I'm surprised no one has. Perhaps I shall ask Papa when I get home."

"Papa?" Tootles looked up at her curiously. "You have a father? What about a mother? Do you have one of those? And how about brothers or sisters? Is your entire family like you?"

He looked up at her expectantly. Again there was a pause. Finally, she said, "It would take a long time and many words I cannot say to tell you everything. But I can share it with you."

Before Tootles had a chance to ask what she meant, she began to sing; a soft, quiet tune that again reminded him of whales. His eyelids drooped, and before he knew it, he fell sound asleep, suspended in his fleshy cocoon, floating farther and farther out to sea, being watched by a strange sea creature that by all rights should not even exist.


	4. A Dead Future

Tootles' ears were full of sweet song, and he felt as though he was floating in a warm bath. He let himself go limp, and didn't even concern himself with the question of how he could breathe if he was indeed submerged in water. He felt his arm lift lazily, and was surprised when it bumped against something smooth and hard. His eyes flew open, and all around him swirled a thick, yellow-green liquid, endlessly bubbling and distorting what little vision he had. His hand went forward again, feeling a smooth hard surface not two feet from him, and was startled further when he saw that the hand he had put forth was long and thin and the color of soot, with pointed nails. He managed to look down and saw his body beneath him, twisted and disfigured, and not just from the movement of the liquid around him. His chest stuck out, and a pair of pale pink objects that looked like little plants dangled there, just above where it stuck out the most. Further below, he saw his feet, tiny and dark-colored like they were clad in boots, with fins growing out of them, the same he had seen on Yulio. He tried to make the feet move, but try as he might, nothing happened.

Panic welled up inside him, threatening to burst out, and just as he was about to let loose a hysterical shout, he heard a small voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. "Do not be afraid, Too-tles. You are being shown my story by being me. I am sorry if I frightened you, but this is the best way for me to tell you everything I know." Tootles swallowed the shout and mentally nodded. "It's okay, it just...takes getting used to." He carefully calmed himself, willing himself to remember now that the motions this body was making weren't controlled by him, though he could see just fine. It was like being shut in a box with peepholes; you can see out, but nothing on the surface is affected by you.

In the next few minutes that he floated there, little things began to come to him, as he shared the thoughts of Yulio in this place. He realized that the smooth, hard surface he had touched was glass, and that he was in some sort of tank; the word tank was unfamiliar to him; it had a harsh sort of sound that he rather didn't like. He squinted through the liquid and the glass and could just make out a strange room with blinking lights, moving machinery, and more yellowish blobs that might have been other tanks like the one he (or rather, Yulio) was suspended in.

As he hovered there among the liquid and bubbles, he became aware of a strange noise; the only noise that he was able to hear. It sounded like a hum at first, but as he felt Yulio testing her ears, it gradually became a voice. It was slow and gentle and quiet, and Tootles found himself thinking, _if Peter could sound like this, he would be the best father in the whole world. THIS is what a father should sound like._

He then gradually made out words, but they seemed to trickle through his head like water, and he couldn't quite grasp their meaning:

"Mankind stands between the Heavens and the Earth

And there are those who strain to hear the voice of Heaven

In my case, though, I listen for the voices of the sea and the land……..

There are those who call me to task for hurting people

But if they suppose that I hurt people

They must see that I, too, have been hurt……….

That is natural. It is the nature of the power granted to men.

It is the essence of the beast.

It is intellect which cloaks it……."

He soon gave up trying to make sense of the entire thing, as it continued on and on, but he could feel Yulio's longing as she hung on to every word, taking in her first sound as though she were starving and this was the only way she could eat.

Days and weeks passed by in mere minutes as Tootles hung suspended in a body that was not his own, feeling emotions that were not his. Changes happened: his hands and feet grew darker, his chest more prominent, his ears tapered, and something that was hair and yet wasn't hair grew longer and hung in front and behind his ears. His eyes became sharper, and as the voice continued to drone on every minute of every day, he could feel a swelling emotion inside this body; it grew outward and filled his entire being, it throbbed and seemed to make the liquid around him warmer. He soon realized it was love. Yulio had come to love the voice, how it soothed and relaxed her and seemed to almost tease her as it talked of things she could not fully understand. She had the body of a full grown woman (so to speak), but her mind was like a small child's, where thoughts floated aimlessly around and bumped into each other without any kind of order. Yet she clung to every word, trying to answer questions that played again and again like a broken record: _Who am I? What am I? Where am I? Who is that voice?_

More time passed, and finally, an air of expectancy seemed to come over the place full of tanks. Yulio's eyes were sharp enough now where Tootles could almost make out the occupants of the other tanks nearby. They all had the same body as Yulio, and they too seemed restless; tapping or even knocking on the glass in their tanks, others trying to swim and finding it difficult in such a small space. Yulio's body remained still, though Tootles could feel her shaking. He couldn't imagine what had happened to make them all so agitated, but at that moment, he realized that the voice had stopped; he couldn't hear it anymore.

It suddenly seemed so quiet, like someone had stuffed his ears full of cotton; it felt smothering, and he began to panic again. But then he saw a movement outside of the tank, and all eyes in the room were on a man who stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing calmly at the many tanks. Gentle blue eyes were smiling in a bed of wrinkles, and his expression was one of love. Pale hair hung limply, a few unruly bangs reaching out and touching thick glasses. He was dressed as one who lived in a warm climate; simple shorts and buttoned shirt. Every creature in that room suddenly came to the same realization; here at last was the voice that had been with them since the day they first knew consciousness. Like ripples that come after a stone is thrown into a pond, a single word seemed to ripple through the room, spurred on by the liquid. "Papa".

In that very instant, although the creatures in that room had never seen each other, or even cared that the others existed, as soon as they as one recognized their creator, invisible bonds seemed to form, like a spider web intertwining them all, making them aware of each other and highlighting their one common mental link; they adored this man, and would happily die just to please him. It was an emotion completely alien to Tootles, and it horrified him.

Time sped up for him, and the story continued to play out. He experienced the dizzying thrill of finally being freed from the tanks and the goo, and the first swim into the sea. He felt the salt water caress his skin and the first breath underwater was like he had never breathed properly before. He was part of a group of hundreds of creatures, collectively called either 'females' or 'Myoo-tee-oh'. They were to serve as part of an army of creatures, against the humans that remained on the land. They had been 'born' in a place called 'Stream-base', and now they were to go forth in a strange half-alive underwater ship, called both the Phantom Ship and the Ghost Ship by the humans. There were many hidden entrances into the ship that the females could use, and they all led to a huge pool of salt water deep inside the ship. There were holes at the bottom, where strange machines were stored, and at the top there was a small catwalk and platform that ended in the middle of the pool. As they swam up and surfaced, what wasn't obscured by steam was strange, bright and loud, unlike the cool tranquility of the sea. Their commander stood waiting for them; a frightening creature that looked part machine, part shark, part dog, and spoke with a dozen voices at once, all of them unpleasant. To Yulio's sensitive ears, it sounded like metal grating on metal, seagulls being tortured, and a land beast's scream of rage. The females only knew him as their commander, and the other beasts on board the ship called him boss. He was cruel and sadistic, sometimes snatching an unwary female and hurting them when he was in a fit of rage, but for the most part, he was a good commander, and the females soon learned their place and how to remain on his good side by following orders precisely.

The nooks at the bottom of their pool were for machines called 'coo-moes'; crab-like war devices that the females piloted in formations and were equipped with weapons that to Tootles were completely alien and horrifyingly destructive. As the females were trained, Tootles learned more and more about this future world.

Apparently there had been a massive flood, wiping out 10 billion humans and covering all of Earth's major cities in ocean. The angry humans had lashed out at the sea life, and as a result, the entire world was at war; Earth's remaining humans against the children of the sea and the man they knew as "Papa', whom the humans called Zorndyke. It was a frightening thought for Tootles, having most of humanity gone. So many mothers and fathers, and children just like him….all wiped out forever. War of this magnitude was new to him, and he was disturbed by all the hatred and anger on both sides. It made it difficult to determine which side was more in the right, if indeed there was such a difference.

He experienced many things that Yulio had, piloting a coo-moh by getting inside, immersing himself in a protective gel that helped absorb shock and sustain them, the same broadcast that had been playing inside their tanks now put forth through speakers on the coo-moes for the doomed humans to hear: "There are those who call me to task for hurting people. But if they suppose that I hurt people, they must see that I, too, have been hurt….." He saw cities falling in clouds of rubble and smoke, entire seas turning red as the females' large whale-like comrades, the 'Moo-see-kahs', were blown to bits by the humans in enormous water machines that resembled giant fish. The females rode inside the moo-see-kahs, both with and without their war machines, and they were fond of them, almost the way a small child adores their big brother. Tootles couldn't help but be grieved, as they reminded him so much of the baby whale he had rescued. He could feel the grief mirrored inside of Yulio as each one fell, and more and more died.

Tootles liked it better when the fighting was at a respite, and the females were free to wander the oceans, hunting, frolicking with the fish, and conversing among themselves in their strange whale-cat tongue. He learned that the whole group of them looked to each other as sisters, and although they were so much like each other, each was their own person, with likes, dislikes, separate thoughts, and the occasional different color. A small group of them, Yulio included, liked to hunt and play together, and discuss things that they thought would get them in trouble if the commander overheard them. They decided, in private, to give each other new names, still calling themselves Muteo, but using another that would symbolize their sentience. Yulio had made hers purposefully sound like the original; she had always loved the name, knowing that it was the name Papa had given them, and it seemed wrong to completely abandon it.

Tootles loved it when they just swam for the sheer joy of it; he felt the power behind the seemingly fragile limbs, loved the feel of the salty water as it streamed past him and blew fins and hair back like wind. He marveled at how fast he could swim, far faster than Peter could fly, and as the females swam around each other in graceful and complicated practice formations, Tootles couldn't help but think, _the mermaids can only __hope__ to be this graceful._ He loved racing with the schools that moved like living curtains, reaching out and patting a huge and deadly shark like it was a beloved pet dog, and slipping in and out of forests of anemones and coral the colors of a million rainbows. He saw many things that humans would never see, and although it disturbed him to live in a time of war, it showed him that despite all of the turmoil, peace still existed somewhere in the world, even if it was at the bottom of the sea.

But for all the wonders that were free to be experienced by the children of the sea, war was a constant factor. Every joy came with ten sorrows, and one after the other Tootles saw and despaired at, as both Yulio and himself. The time he narrowly escaped a primitive trap set by vengeful humans and could only watch helplessly as two of his sisters were pulled up and mercilessly left out of the water to die. The time the commander went into a fit of rage after a lost battle and Yulio was one of the unlucky few who returned to their pool with darkening bruises and cuts that seeped blood into the water. The time he saw the grisly result of a critical blow to a coo-moh that had reached the sensitive inner chamber. The time he saw so many of Yulio's sisters fall, and nothing could be done but to let them drift down to the sea bed, unmourned and unburied. Though Yulio felt little pity or sadness for the humans that fell, Tootles was deeply saddened by the losses on both sides. This was a future without hope, without even the simple belief in something extraordinary and magical, like faeries and Neverland. In this world, despite all of it's advancement and new fantastic things, faerie tales were dead.

Then, the time came for Yulio's last memories of a familiar place. She had been out with at least a half-dozen of her sisters, frolicking like happy dolphins in the rising waves of an oncoming storm, when one of them had cried out and pointed just below them. One of the humans' metal sea-ships, the 'subs', was slowly swimming beneath them, barely perceptible even to them. Tootles felt the anger and hate well up inside of Yulio and course through her blood like hot poison, and the angry sounds her sisters made showed that their thoughts were similar. They all resolved to swim closer to the ship and wreak what havoc they could on it.

They approached the sub and got alongside it without any indication that the humans knew they were there, They swam toward the back and saw the holes where the torpedoes were launched. At once, one of Yulio's sisters plunged into one of the holes as far in as she could and there were a lot of scratching and tearing sounds. She emerged with a toothy smile and a fistful of metal bits and metal peelings. Yulio instantly dove at the torpedo hole beneath the first and proceeded to mangle the insides as far as she could reach. Soon each sister had a hole that they were disturbing and pulling bits out of.

So absorbed were they that the humans' retaliation took them entirely by surprise. The sister on Yulio's left never knew what had killed her; one minute she was pulling out more shavings and wires, the next, she caught a Grampus' missle right in the side that actually propelled her a small ways away from the sub before exploding and leaving little remaining of the living creature it had obliterated. Yulio and the rest of her sisters scattered in fright; Tootles caught a glimpse of a strange machine not unlike the coo-mohs pursuing them and firing more missiles. Two more were wiped out before the rest even began swimming for the surface. They swam to the top, not noticing that the entire submarine was surfacing along with them, ready to engage them in battle when they reached the surface. The entire lot of them broke out of the water and into the midst of an oceanic tantrum. Lightning lashed the sky with its white-hot fury, thunder boomed down like a proclamation of doom, waves as tall as trees rose up and pummeled anything unlucky enough to be caught in their troughs, and wind was blowing spray off of the waves and causing drops of rain to pound with the force of pebbles. Before even the females could get their bearings, a roar filled their ears and they only had time to look up before the gigantic waterspout was upon them. Tootles felt Yulio's body lifting effortlessly, and it spun around and flailed and was hit by various objects that passed in and out of vision too quickly to be identified. He heard the females scream as they whipped past, and the roar of the waterspout filled his ears, he could see nothing but water and wind, and before oblivion closed in, a flash of faded yellow that might have been a piece of the humans' Grampus, and Yulio's last conscious thought was that at least one human was going to their deaths along with them.

Tootles' eyes flew open. He was immersed in a golden light, and looking up, he saw Yulio's anxious eyes peering down at him like two orange lanterns. The horrors he had witnessed were still fresh in his mind, and he began to thrash. Alarmed, Yulio broke the connection between her fins, thus breaking the bubble of living flesh that Tootles had been sheltered in. The cold seawater shocked him, and before he knew it, strong hands gripped his arm, and he was pulled to the surface, coughing and sputtering. He saw that they were heading back toward the island, Yulio pulling him along. He wrenched his arm out of her grasp and she turned to look at him, surprised. Tootles flailed a little, then managed to barely stay afloat on his own as he looked at Yulio with a strange expression on his face. "Are you alright?" Yulio's raspy tone was laced with concern. "I was afraid that it might prove too much for one so young. I am sorry." Tootles flushed angrily and swallowed a mouthful of water before he spoke. "Sorry?! How can you be sorry? You hate humans; you've fought with them, killed them, been happy about it. I know you can't control an entire war, but you could've…." Tootles' voice trailed off, then he muttered darkly, "And just because I'm so young doesn't mean I can't take it like you. If I was really so young, you shouldn't have shown me all of that. Not sure you should've shown me anyway."

Yulio looked at him with her head cocked to the side, then she carefully swam up to Tootles and after several gentle taps with the tips of her fingers, she put her arms around him in a sort of awkward hug. When he didn't push her away, she leaned her head toward his and spoke softly in his ear, her voice more like whale song than cat. "Yes I did hate the humans, and I won't pretend that I don't any longer. We never were told why the war was happening; we just knew that it was, and that we were to fight in it. Everyone thinks their side is the right side, and every side in a war does horrible things to come out on top, making themselves believe that the enemy they fight deserves it all. Our friends the Moo-see-kah talked to my sisters and I about it many times, trying to guess the reason. Had I ever seen Papa again, I would have asked him, but for all I know he is as far away to me as the enemy, and as far as I have seen, I have no enemies here on your island. I still wish to be friends with you, if you still desire the same."

Tootles listened quietly, his body slowly relaxing. Finally, he sighed and returned the embrace, a tear trickling down his face and dropping to join the vast ocean of salt. "I suppose you can't help it, being born in a war and all. I just couldn't stand the despair and anger. I'm glad such things don't exist in Neverland."

Yulio smiled. "So am I."

Tootles lifted his head and returned Yulio's toothy grin, but suddenly his gaze ventured behind Yulio's head, and his smile fled from his face and replaced it with a look of horror. Yulio swiftly turned her head and was hit full in the face by a thick net, draping in the water and tangling them both like a pair of silly fish that had wandered too close to the fisherman's boat. But it was not the boat of a fisherman that loomed in front of them, nor was it the voice of a fisherman that yelled out, "Lookee, Cap'n! Wee caught beeeeg fishie! An' Lost Boy too!"


	5. A Bad Feeling

Peter Pan flew lazily over Neverland like a brown leaf that had been carried impossibly high on a fresh breath of wind. He ducked in and out of unsuspecting clouds, occasionally snatching chunks off one and molding them into fun shapes before setting them adrift for the wind to push along.

He was fresh from what he considered a marvelous adventure; a harrowing trip though the forest of the Were-Trees to recover a lost hammer that Tinkerbell had accidentally dropped as she was flying over the forest's dark, writhing trees. It had been an impossible task, but to Peter, impossible only meant that no one other than himself was capable of such a feat. Even now he was looking for a place to perch and crow his triumph for the winds to carry out to the far corners of the island.

He sighted Hook's ship, and his pixie face split into a wide grin. _Of course_, he thought, _what better place than Captain Codfish's very own crow's nest?_ He would proclaim his greatness and annoy Hook at the same time. _Oh the cleverness of me_.

As he began to dive toward the ship, he suddenly became aware that the entire crew was gathered on one side, all looking at two objects that Cookson had snared in his fishing nets. When he saw that one of them had a soaking wet black and white cap on his head, his smile lessened and his speed increased.

The more Tootles tried to pull the net off of himself, the more he seemed to get tangled so that he felt like a fly caught in a spider's web. Already the net was growing heavy as it absorbed the seawater, and it was all he could do to keep his head above water. Beside him, Yulio was having just as difficult a time as he was. She wasn't immediately faced with the problem of drowning, but her long and slender limbs became more readily tangled, and soon she was rasping as hard as he was breathing. She let out a snarl as her eyes began to glow an angry orange, and she began to gnaw on the ropes that ensnared her left arm, the right working frantically to push the suffocating net off of her. Her legs were already hopelessly ensnared, and they hung limply in the tangles like fish that have given up and resigned themselves to their fate.

Up on deck, Cookson was elated as he held the net in his thick, meaty hands and tried to hoist it up all on his own. "Is good catch, yes? Pesky Lost Boy, beeeg fishy. We catch Pan, and eat good!" Mullins peered down at the 'fishy' and drew back, a look approaching horror on his face. "That ain't any kind of fish I saw before, and I've seen plenty. I dunno what it is, but I gotta bad feelin' about it." Billy Jukes leaned over for a look, but instead of drawing back, he continued to stare with a puzzled expression. "Looks almost like a mermaid, but without the tail. And are those eyes glowing--?" Mullins reached out and yanked Jukes away from the railing by his bandanna. "Don't look lad! No telling what evil that creature harbors in its stare; might turn you to stone or turn your brain to cheese!"

"Under the supposition that you have a brain for it to turn, Robert Mullins."

In all the excitement, no one had noticed Captain Hook emerge from his cabin and watch the entire thing with his usual mix of mild interest and contempt. He walked over to the railing and looked over, ignoring the warning sound made by Mullins. To everyone's surprise, not only did he continue to look, but he did so for what seemed a long time. The only sound to be heard was Cookson's grunts as he fought to keep a hold of the net, and the muffled cries of the captives below. Finally, he turned toward them, his momentary astonishment giving way to a mask of rage. "Well what are all you brainless laggards waiting for? Give the cook a hand before they get away and the lot of you receive two dozen for the inability to subdue a boy and a thing!" The crew moved as though they were scalded, and before long the net was laid out on the deck and the pair lay panting among its soaked coils. Tootles was immediately set upon and held fast, but the pirates seemed unsure of what to do with Yulio.

She lay on the deck, writhing and gasping. The struggle had weakened her, and on top of that, she was farther away from water than any fish-like creature ought to be. Already her movements were growing weaker as her body began to dry out, and she tossed on the deck and her gasps turned into heaves.

Tootles was yelling and trying to pull away from Mason, the pirate who was holding him. "Put her back! She can't survive out of water like that! Put her back before you kill her!" Mason gave Tootles a smart whap on his head. "Quiet, boy! If you don't stow it, you're like to end up the same way!" Tootles' eyes welled up with tears from the pain of the blow and the unfairness of it all. Had his vision not become blurry, he might have noticed that at least two of the pirates looked like they would like nothing more than to throw the strange creature right back into the ocean where they had found her.

Cookson had vanished as soon as he had gotten through hauling the net up, and now he came huffing and puffing up with a nicked and rusty kitchen knife in his hand and a big smile that showed all of his four teeth. "We keel it now an' put eet een salt. Keep eet fresh. We have feesh stew for weeks!" Tootles yelled anew and tried to pull away from Mason's iron grip, receiving another hit for his trouble. He turned away so that he would not see the deed, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

But as Cookson moved toward Yulio with the knife, a hand gripped his fat wrist and held it in check. Cookson turned in surprise and found himself looking into the face of his captain, a strangely wooden look on his handsome face. And when he spoke, the voice was almost as calm as the face.

"Mister Cookson, kindly remove yourself to the galley. This creature is not meant for food."

"But Cap'n--!"

There was a glint of silver, and Hook's hook had tucked itself neatly beneath Cookson's wobbly chin, the point digging threateningly into his windpipe.

"The galley, Cookson. _Now_."

Without another word, Cookson rushed to the galley as fast as he could go. All on board heard the galley door slam, and for another minute, all was quiet on board.

Hook faced the rest of the crew and was opening his mouth to say something, when an earsplitting crow sounded out and seemed to shake the very air that bore it. Every pair of eyes on board looked up toward the crow's nest, where it seemed as though a blur of brown was rapidly descending straight toward Mason and Tootles. A blur of brown with a dagger.

Mason ducked, but Peter stopped in front of the pirate, thrust his dagger hand out, and gave Mason's hand a smart jab. Mason howled and released his hold on Tootles. Peter wasted no time in grabbing Tootles by the hand and taking to the air once more, neatly stepping aside as Hook's hook swept his direction and drew back with Mason's now skewered hat instead of Peter Pan. Laughing so loud that he was unable to hear Tootles' frantic cries, Peter raced back toward the island, already adding things to this new part of his adventure that would have the Lost Boys in complete awe of him. _As if they weren't anyway._

Hook was still staring up at the sky, shaking with rage, when he heard Starkey's voice beside him.

"Begging your pardon Cap'n, but what are we to do about this……" he gestured vaguely at Yulio.

Hook's azure eyes moved from the sky to the sad little heap in the net. Salt was beginning to dry on the creature's body in a crust, and he could almost see her ribs protruding beneath her cracking skin. Her gasps and heaves continued, but they were quieter, as though she lacked sufficient air to gasp. Her eyes were half open, and her small hands were unconsciously clutching at nothing.

"Shall we throw it overboard, Cap'n?"

Hook pursed his lips, then turned and faced the crew, most of his usual presence returned in force. "Mister Mason! Gather up your tools and some spare lumber and fashion for me a large box, right here on deck. See to it that it is waterproof, and then fill it with seawater. In the meantime, Robert Mullins and Mister Jukes shall bring out all the buckets they can find and ensure that the creature is kept…moistened, until the box is complete. The rest of you, go about your duties per usual. Move it, you imbecilic dogs!"

More than one thought Hook's orders odd, but all knew better than to question them; Cookson seldom kept any intelligent thoughts in his head for very long, so his reaction was expected. Mason went below for his tools and some wood, while Billy Jukes and Mullins began gathering up buckets and rope. Before long, Mason was to be seen hammering away at the beginnings of a box about the size of a door and the depth of a standard crate. Mullins and Jukes took turns with the buckets; one would lower a bucket via a rope to the water below until it was full, then hoist it back up and empty it's contents into the other buckets, while the second took the filled buckets and carried them over to the creature on the deck, where they drizzled the water over it, trying to cover as much of it as possible and assure that none of it dried out.

The creature barely stirred during all this, though her breathing (Mullins had declared in a way that brooked no argument that the creature was a female) had improved somewhat. Jukes had gingerly reached out and untangled her legs from the nets, but seeing her flinch with every touch, he had left her alone after that, save to drizzle seawater over her.

He was on his last bucket before switching with Mullins, when the creature's eyes suddenly flew open and she stared at him without blinking. Jukes froze, Mullins' words about evil gazes swirling through his head. But instead of turning him to stone or his brain to cheese, she instead closed her eyes halfway and made a strange cat-like sound. Mason, who was positioning a nail on the almost completed box, heard only cat-like noises, and he paused momentarily to look in their direction. But Jukes had gone completely still, a look of wonder and terror on his face as he stared at her as though she had suddenly grown an extra eye. Shakily, he drizzled the rest of the seawater on her feet, then slowly backed away from her over to where Mullins was waiting impatiently with the filled buckets.

"What's the hold-up, lad? Did she talk to ye?" He started to chuckle, but it died on his lips as Jukes looked more horrified than ever. "Ya can't be serious? She-?"

Jukes shook his head, his black hair drifting down to cover an eye. "I don't know, shipmate. I was just pouring the water on her, and I could have sworn I heard her say something about her feet needing some." He looked at Mullins pleadingly. "I want to think I imagined it, but the more I think on it, the more I think I really heard it."

Mullins put a calloused hand on Jukes' shoulder. "Let me take over now; if I hear anything, I'll be sure to tell ya. Maybe ya just need a break. Go ahead and haul the water; if I hear anything odd, I'll let ya know."

Jukes nodded and picked up the rope, while Mullins took a full bucket to the creature and proceeded to drench her. Her eyes were still half open, but they seemed unfocused, and she didn't say anything.

Mason finished the box and went below once more, only to emerge with a bucket of sticky, dark pitch. After quickly coating the outside of the box, he turned to Mullins, gestured that the box was ready to be filled up with seawater, then rather moodily retired below decks. Now a second bucket was roped and lowered so that while Mullins could continue keeping the creature wet, Jukes could start filling the rude box with seawater.

When it was finally filled, Mullins cast aside the bucket, bent down, and gingerly picked her up as gently as though he were picking up a child, though the look on his face suggested he was picking up something that might give him a disease. The creature attempted a few weak thrashes, but still no sound was heard.

It wasn't until Mullins reached the box and practically threw her in that she made any sound. She had sunk like a stone at first, and then she slowly floated to the top and peered warily at Mullins. A few indignant-sounding mews sounded out, and Mullins did a double-take. Very plainly, in the midst of those mewing sounds, he had heard, "Why can't you be gentle like the other one?" Jukes, who had come forward to see how Yulio was faring, heard only, "Can't….be…..gentle?" He froze and looked at Mullins, who had slowly turned around, his face a reflection of Jukes'.

"Did you…..just hear--?"

"I did, lad. I heard it too."

They both turned toward Yulio, who had righted herself so that only her head was above water, her orange eyes traveling from one pirate to the other.

Jukes was the first to speak after a long uncomfortable silence. "Can you….um….understand us? That is….did you…….talk to us?"

Yulio cocked her head slightly and replied with a string of mews and squeals that made Mullins' teeth hurt. He clearly heard, "You two must have Umi Tamashii like that other boy." She turned to Mullins. "You have it more, I think. You must love the sea."

Mullins nodded slowly. Jukes, who had only heard "You…..have……like….other. You…..love…….sea." looked puzzled. "Can you understand her, Mullins?"

Mullins turned to him. "Aye lad, I can. She seems to think I can understand her more because I 'love the sea'." He turned to look at her, fear and mistrust apparent in his grey eyes. "How would you know that, eh? Got some kinda witchery about you, I bet. KNEW I had a bad feeling about you. Jus' what are you anyway?"

Before Yulio could answer, she saw beyond them and her head disappeared beneath the water. Both pirates turned around and saw Hook reappear on the deck. Both hurried off to the remainder of their duties, leaving Yulio alone to stare guardedly at the white-haired captain from beneath the water, distorting his face as he peered down at her. She cautiously moved half of her head out of the water, her ears pricked. Hook looked at her for a while without speaking; when he did, it was so quiet that she almost couldn't hear him.

"I do not yet know myself why I keep you alive, creature; I shall endeavor to find out, but until then, you are a prisoner on board my ship. Should you try to escape, I may just let Cookson indulge in the urge to perfect his abysmal culinary skills with you. I know that you understand me; see to it that you do not forget." He turned smartly on his heels and strode back toward his cabin, not once looking back.

The next few days found Yulio struggling to stay alive and healthy in a box that to her had the feel of a coffin, with little more to do than peer at the various crew members as they went about their daily routines. Billy Jukes would often pause in his work to look her way, his black eyes filled with curiosity. Mullins looked at her almost as often, but his looks were uneasy and mistrusting. The one called 'Smee' passed by a few times, doing little more than glance at her over his spectacles and refer to her as something called a 'beastie'. The rest of the pirates avoided her altogether. Not once did she see the captain.

When Captain Hook finally appeared, no one else was on deck. The sky was clear, and everything seemed to be holding its breath. He came and stood by the creature's box, not looking directly at her, but off into the horizon, his expression vacant. He heard the small sound of the creature surfacing, perhaps to get a better look at him, but he gave it little thought. He wasn't entirely sure why he had come from his cabin, but the feeling that had been inside of him since the day he had seen the oil in the water had surged within him, as though it ran through his body with his blood, and it drove him to distraction.

Since he had come to this accursed island, he had found little need to harbor any other emotions aside from anger and vengeance. Most of the other emotions that he had once harbored had lessened, then faded, then apparently died altogether. But in these past few days, some of the emotions had returned, gradually building up until he could think of little else. Outwardly he was the same; harsh, demanding, reclusive. But all the while, his insides were churning like one of Cookson's stews, and he found such an emotional surge disturbing. He longed to be rid of it, but he wasn't sure how.

Before he knew it, he found himself speaking aloud.

"All the years I have been engaging in piracy, living in infamy, coming close to death or defeat time after time, and I never spared them a second thought once they were gone. But in all that time, despite all those dangers, never have I felt such a sense of impending doom, of events coming to pass that would affect me and I would have no control over them, than when all of this started.

I have always controlled my own destiny, taken charge of my fate rather than letting it be governed by chance happenings. Yet here I am now with the invisible and yet stifling conclusion that something is about to happen……..something terrible. In the plainest of terms, I have a bad feeling."

Hook slowly closed his eyes. "A cruel thing it is indeed, to be devoid of emotion for so long…… and now all at once, to be consumed by it."

Somewhere to his left, he heard the creature make a sympathetic sound. He opened his eyes and turned toward the creature, who was studying him with undisguised interest.

"Can you tell me, creature? Can you in some way prepare me for this insurmountable blow?"

Yulio made the sound again, a sort of sad mew, and drew her arms up out of the water, where she folded them before her and rested her chin on her hands as though she was studying something interesting. She had heard every word the captain had said, though not understanding it all, but she came to the conclusion that he did not want to hurt her; he sought answers, much like she did, and that was why she sympathized with him so readily. They both had been snatched from the world they had known so well and left behind in a world that was lovely in its own way, but lacked many of the things that made up their very lives. It was like trying to enjoy a sandwich with nothing between the slices of bread; it was still food, but all that made it enjoyable was gone, leaving a dull and uncertain existence, like tasteless, bleached bread. Yulio understood. They were not so different, her and this pirate captain. They were creatures from another time and place that fate had played a nasty joke on, leaving them to eke out a life as best they could in a strange land. Though he lacked the sea soul, it seemed to her that of all the strange humans she had encountered thus far, this one was the most like her.

Suddenly, a tiny sound reached her ears, one she recognized immediately and thought she would never hear again. Despite its familiarity, she flattened her ears and let out a long, low growl, her orange eyes beginning to glow as they looked out toward the mouth of the bay. Unable to hear as she could, Hook followed her gaze, looking mildly puzzled. He carefully brought up a small spyglass and pointed it out toward the bay entrance. At first, all he saw was what appeared to be a small, oddly bent pipe, swimming upright through the water like a dolphin on its fin, but he noticed the water's color darkening around it, and concluded that the pipe was part of something impossibly huge, and it was heading directly for the bay at a terrifying pace.


	6. Something They Won't Expect

In all of Neverland, only two pairs of vigilant eyes saw it coming.

Below decks, Mullins and Jukes were brooding with the rest of the crew, who were scattered about in their hammocks or sharpening weapons down to nothing. Mullins finally threw his nicked sword down in a temper and yelled, "I've had it with all this waitin'! What does the Cap'n think is gonna happen with no one to man the ship! I'm tellin' ya mates, it's been plain crazy since that creature came aboard."

Jukes looked at Mullins from his hammock. "But the Cap'n has been that way before. Remember the oil?"

Murmurs of agreement sounded, and before Smee could push his glasses up the bridge of his nose and remark with his sternest face that they should all stay out of the captain's affairs and mind their own, the air trembled with an earsplitting boom. The ship rocked like it had been shoved, and belongings slid across the floor or flew across the room like clumsy, frightened birds. Jukes tipped right out of his hammock, Starkey fell on his face and bruised his chin, and Smee landed on his bottom and knocked his glasses askew. For a few minutes the air was filled with cries and curses, and when Mason struck a match, everyone's face was pale and frightened in the weak light, and Mason's voice shook as he spoke. "What in Neverland was that?"

In the Lost Boys' underground house, Peter was doing one of the many things he loved best; playing with his food. He picked the trout up off of his plate and pretended to make it talk, moving the mouth so that it opened and closed. "Don't eat me, Michael!" he said in a squeaky voice, "I'll show you the way to buried treasure!" Michael giggled into his cup of water, and Wendy fixed Peter with a stern look. "Food is for eating, Peter, not playing with." She then looked farther down the table to the very end, where a forlorn figure in a little black and white cap sat, shoulders slumped, poking his fish with a finger. 

Wendy sighed and shook her head. Tootles hadn't been the same since his rescue by Peter from the pirate ship. When the pair had returned to the house, Tootles had been so hysterical that he couldn't string two words together. When he finally did, his story was met with odd looks and knowing half-smiles. It was obvious that they didn't believe him about his adventure with Yulio, even with Wendy's assurances that there was such a creature. They all seemed to think he made the whole thing up.

Nibs had smiled the widest. "Maybe she put some kind of evil spell on you," he teased, "and made you think all that stuff happened. She might have been trying to drown you, and the pirates just fished you out of the water." Tootles had looked like he couldn't believe his own ears as he turned to Peter. "But YOU were there! She was right there in the net! Don't you remember?" Peter had just shrugged. "I might have seen some fishy thing in there, I don't know; I had my sights on only one thing..." He had leaped up in the air with his dagger drawn and pantomimed the rescue to the cheers and shouts of the other Lost Boys, leaving poor Tootles standing there with tears in his eyes. "She wasn't evil." he had muttered only loud enough for Wendy to hear, and since then he had become sullen and depressed, refusing to play and sitting off by himself.

He was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the pirates had killed and eaten Yulio, and he might have been able to save her if any of the others had believed. They might have been able to form a rescue. But once again he was pushed to the bottom of the chain, and he felt as though the whole of Neverland was against him. That day, when Peter had presented his catches for supper, Tootles had turned away at the sight of the torn scales and sightless eyes, and even now, he was only at the table to please Mother Wendy; he didn't think he would ever be able to eat fish again. He didn't even look up at Peter's shenanigans with his fish, though it made his insides churn in an ugly way.

Suddenly, a loud boom shook the air, and it seemed as though the entire island had been shaken to its core. Clumps of dirt and roots rained down from the ceiling, everyone was shaken right out of their chairs, and the candles all fell and went out, shrouding the once cozy room in darkness. Shouts rang out as they all groped in the dark to find the lost candles, then Peter's commanding voice rang out. "Ten-SHUN!" All the ruckus ceased as though it had been shut off with a switch. "Now," he said, "find someone to hang on to, and then form a line behind me. I'll find the entrance and we'll all get out of here."

After a lot of pushing and lost tempers, everyone finally found themselves at the entrance of the underground house, dusting themselves off and pulling roots out of each other's hair. Michael tugged at the hem of Wendy's dress. "What was that awful noise, Wendy?" Wendy looked around, bewildered. "I don't know Michael, but I know it isn't anything good."

In the Indian village, the boom had resounded through their dwellings, causing teepees to collapse and bowls of food to be spilled out willy-nilly. Tiger Lily and Hard to Hit ran out of one of the still upright teepees, breathless and wide-eyed. Behind them strode Chief Great Big Little Panther, as calm and serene as though mysterious boomings were an everyday thing. His gaze moved over their surroundings, until he finally looked off in the direction of Kidd Creek Bay, where Hook's ship was anchored. He turned around and went back inside the rickety teepee, emerging moments later with his shaman bag. "Come," he gestured to Tiger Lily and Hard to Hit, "we shall go to the bay and investigate this disturbance."

The fairies had been holding a grand party on Small Monday Island when the boom was heard and felt there. The hollow tree that served them well as a gathering place was shaken down to its roots, and leaves fell like slow rain from its branches. Fairies shot out of knotholes and other secret entrances like fireballs from a roman candle, and once outside they all glanced about anxiously, looking for Titania, the Queen of the Fairies. She emerged at last, her finest dress torn and the fiercest scowl on her face. "We'll just SEE who's responsible for this!" Like a cloud of lights, the fairies flew off as one, heading for Kidd Creek Bay, where the deafening boom had come from.

Down in the Mermaid's Lagoon, the boom had brought lovely coral formations crashing down and more than one mermaid was shaken off of the rocks they had been sunning themselves on. All of the mermaids fled in a panic into their houses, slamming their doors and hiding in fear. All except one. Crooked Tail stroked her chin thoughtfully after she had calmed her spooked chariot beasts, then she slapped the reigns and made all speed for Kidd Creek Bay.

Hook barely had time to register what was going to happen before the boom sounded out, shaking him off his feet and onto the deck. Yulio was keening and holding on to her box, which was sloshing water and rocking so hard that it nearly toppled. When Hook picked himself up, he saw a plume of ugly black smoke rise into the air near the entrance to the bay, and he could see blackened sand and trees that had caught fire. It looked as though a chunk of the island's beach had been blown clean away.

"Great gobs of galleon grease!" Hook roared. "What was that!"

Yulio rose up out of the box until she was nearly halfway out, craning her neck for a better look. Her eyes were wide and frightened, but further back, an angry spark of hate fought for dominance.

Captain Andrew Scarett's cold gray eyes never left the island as the _Corback _began to circle it like a great metallic shark. He had ordered what he had termed the 'warning shot', and he had to confess to himself that he was disappointed at the result. He had half expected the island to go through some dramatic metamorphosis; perhaps reveal itself to be half dirt and vegetation, half metal and delicate inner workings. Many of Zorndyke's creations were such half-and-half abominations.

But as he watched the pillar of smoke rise from the smoldering trees, the island itself made no move to resist; it just continued to be, an island paradise horribly wronged. Shoving that thought away, he scanned the edges of the island for signs of life. Several times he glimpsed movement within the thick bushes, but they were so vague and fleeting that it could have very well been an animal or something equally at home on a small island. Had he known that most of the sentient beings were at that moment heading towards the very spot he and his crew had left, he would have turned around as fast as the metal behemoth allowed and made all speed toward the bay. But thinking on a path dramatically different from the Neverland folk, Scarett continued to take his metal giant in a circle, scanning the shores like a hawk after mice.

Yulio turned to Hook with undeniable urgency. The crew's muffled shouts could be heard below decks, and as Hook began to pick himself up, she shoved herself forward until only her legs below the knee were still in the water. "Release me," she said in her strange tongue, begging him with her eyes to understand, though she knew he could not. "I have to help. Let me go." To emphasize, she tilted her head hard in the direction of the bay mouth and the ship's railing. Hook just stared at her, but his face showed that he at the very least knew her desire.

For what seemed like days they just stood eye-to-eye; the most fearsome of pirates, and the creation from the most troubled of times. Finally, his face set, Hook slowly backed away from the box and, with his hook, gestured dramatically toward the bay.

Yulio used all of her strength to heave herself out of the box, and she landed with a wet splat onto the deck. Knowing she didn't have long before she would begin to dry out, she struggled to her feet and dashed to the ship's side, moving on all fours like an animal. When she reached the railing, she in one fluid motion rose up on her two feet, jumped over the side in a graceful arch, and dove straight down into the water, where her splash barely left ripples.

Hook didn't even bother to walk to the railing and watch the creature swim away; he didn't even seem to notice when the crew all clambered on deck and stood there, watching their captain watch nothing. Finally, Smee cleared his throat and approached Hook's side. "Beggin' yer pardon, Cap'n sir. What be yer orders?" Hook turned to Smee and was about to reply, when he suddenly saw a form shoot straight up in the air close to the remains of the blackened beach. Distance did little to diminish the sight of Peter Pan, though it did diminish whatever it was he was shouting angrily to the empty sky.

The sight of his rival seemed to ignite a spark deep down inside of him, and his old inner fire began to smolder. He turned on his surprised crew and shouted. "To the longboats, you villainous dullards! We're going ashore, or what's left of it, to find what we may!"

Peter Pan and the Lost Boys were the first to arrive at the charred beach. Most of the boys stood there open-mouthed, unable to believe that the beach was just….gone. "How awful," Wendy said, bringing her hands up to her chest. Michael clung to Wendy and looked out to sea for the monster scary enough to make beaches vanish. John walked over to where the remainder of the sand had been blackened, peering through his glasses at it. Tootles looked more interested than he had in anything for the past several days.

But Peter's reaction was the most dramatic. His sparkling eyes narrowed in anger. His fists clenched, his chewed fingernails making painful red crescents on his palm. His teeth ground together so hard you could hear them. His entire body shook in anger. He shot up in the air, the screeched to a halt only several yards above where he had been, and yelled a challenge to the clear blue sky. "Show yourself, you cowards! Nothing or nobody threatens Neverland without answering to Peter Pan!"

His challenge of course went unanswered, and Wendy frantically cried out, "We've got to stop the trees from burning, Peter!" He turned around just in time to see a shimmering cloud descend upon the raging fire, and in moments, the last flame was put out. He looked up and saw what looked like every fairy in Neverland flying toward the unburned trees beside the beach. He floated down after them and nearly bumped into Tinkerbell. "Fluttering plugs, Peter! What's going on!"

A discordant ruckus of cat sounds filled the air, and many of the fairies left their perches with shrieks of fright. A frightening head had popped out of the deep water where the beach had been, fixing the proceedings with glowing orange eyes. A joyful cry came out of the crowd. "Yulio! You're alive!" Tootles ran forward, smiling and holding out his arms. Yulio made a happy sound and lifted her arm out of the water for Tootles to grab. Tootles squeezed her hand and moved to sit down beside her, despite Wendy's anxious look. Yulio's face grew sober, and she repeated her cat sounds to the crowd. Many of the fairies and a few of the Lost Boys put their fingers in their ears. But Tootles listened intently, and when Yulio was finished, he turned to them.

"She says the thing that did this is called a 'submarine'. It has these cannon-type things, like Hook's, only they work underwater and are REALLY powerful."

"Surely not!" exclaimed John. "I've heard of submarines, but they're barely big enough to carry a few people, let alone a cannon that can do such damage!"

Tootles' face drained of color. "But Yulio's from the future, from Tomorrow." All eyes were on him now. "If mankind worked on a submarine from the time you came here to the time Yulio's from…."

Both the Twins' faces suddenly looked like Tootles'. "That would be a lot of time-"

"To perfect an invention."

A silence borne of dread settled down upon the scene. It was broken by the arrival of the Indians. Great Big Little Panther, making no more noise than smoke, walked over to Tootles and Yulio and stared down at them. "And does your friend know any means to stop this dreaded invention?" he asked Tootles. Yulio looked confused, so Tootles repeated the question to her. Her crestfallen expression didn't need to be translated.

"Well we have to do SOMETHING!" Tiger Lily shouted, bringing her fist down hard into her palm.

"I concur!" a voice rang out. Every head turned toward the middle of the bay, where two longboats were only yards away and coming fast. Standing at the head of the first, Hook fixed them all with a steely glare, as though daring them to run. Peter drew his dagger, defiantly crossed his arms and stood in front of the Lost Boys. Tootles still refused to move, and when Hook's boat came ashore, he almost got stepped on for his trouble.

Hook strode across the sand until he was less than a foot away from Peter. The two glared at each other with all the defiance and open hostility that could fit into a glare. Finally, Hook straightened up and spoke, loud enough so that all who were gathered could hear him.

"One thing is to be made clear here and now. I despise you. I despise you, your gangly crew of Lost Boys, and everything else about this miserable island. Nevertheless, though it brings me great loathing recalling such events, there have been times in the past when not only yourselves but the entire godforsaken place has been threatened by a mutual enemy. We had to momentarily banish our various animosities and work together. I believe that such a time is once again upon us."

Hook directed this last sentence out to the crowd of fairies, Lost Boys and Indians. "If we are to stand the slightest chance, a truce must be temporarily called."

Great Big Little Panther nodded solemnly. "I agree with you, Captain Hook. However, for such a truce to stand, each and every heart must be in complete and total unity. We cannot have personal feelings getting entangled in the matter at hand if we are all to come out of this alive." He walked over to Hook and calmly offered his hand to shake, must to the distress of Tiger Lily and Hard to Hit. Hook extended his metal claw sincerely enough, but his face told that any other time he would have happily put it to a much more painful use on the placid chieftain. Great Big Little Panther nodded to Peter and gestured for him to take Hook's other hand. Peter looked as though he would have preferred walking into the Croc's lair with his tunic full of meat, but he blew his bangs away from his face in frustration and grabbed Hook's hand, returning Hook's fixed smile and looking as though they were trying to crush each other's fingers.

Knowing the inevitable instability of the truce, the Indian chief let go of the hook and faced the assembly of Neverland creatures, his gaze resting on the only creature that wasn't. "Now, we must know all there is to know about this…submarine. How does it work? Does it have any weaknesses?"

With Tootles as the translator, Yulio was able to relate to them all that it was made of metal, the crew were inside controlling the cannons, the crew and their captain could see them despite being underwater, and that it moved by means of propellers, which she had an especially hard time trying to describe.

It seemed as though the more details they gleaned from Yulio's words, the more agitated she became. When Tootles finally asked her what was wrong, she let loose a stream of hisses, yowls and cries, wringing her thin hands, baring her teeth in agitation, and making her eyes flicker like a pair of candles.

When she quieted, Tootles looked at them all, unsure of how to begin. "Go ahead Tootles," Wendy prompted gently, "What did she say?"

"She says we ain't got what it takes," Mullins voice rang out roughly. He had no need of a translator and had heard everything Yulio had to say. Encouraged by Mullins' words, Tootles spoke. "She said that all of this information she's giving us doesn't matter in the long run because we don't have what it takes to fight the thing. She says in her world, the machines are strong and for-formidable, and the only things that can really bring them down are either her own people or other machines from that time. Stuff that we can probably only dream about. She says…." He sighed sadly. "She says we don't stand a chance."

The expression on everyone's faces ranged from anger and denial to hopelessness and despair. Peter was shaking his head so hard that his ponytail was smacking him in the face, unwilling to just give in to the thought of losing everything he knew. Tootles looked the most miserable; for once in his life everyone had relied on him, the one who had the least to say, as a connection with their only hope of beating this enemy, and he couldn't even give them any hope. But hope has a way of arriving anyway in the worst of times, and it chose now to act through another in whose group he usually had the least to say.

"Hold on a second," Billy Jukes said, holding his hands out for emphasis, his eyes suddenly wide. "You say it's a future machine, from the world most of us knew once, and that only stuff from the future can harm it, stuff we can only dream about." He turned to Tootles and Yulio. "Well, where we're from, that same world, isn't all of this-" he gestured to the island, the sky, and the sparkling waters of the bay, "stuff that we can only dream about?"

The twins, ever in like minds with their wrong-sided colleague, caught on at once. "Did they ever test their machine-"

"On fairy dust?"

"Or shaman magic?"

"Or troll spells?"

Tootles was pulled into the excitement. "I've seen-!" He paused, and then continued. "Yulio's told me about her world. It's a place filled with war and hate and there's hardly any hope. It doesn't seem like fairy tales are paid much attention to. They wouldn't expect real magic!"

"Of course!" Tink cried, flying circles around Peter's head. "We have all kinds of things we can use! We're ALL something they won't expect!" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But how to use that…."

Now Tootles' was translating once more as each group put forth what they had. As they did, ideas began to spring up on how best to use such abilities. Yulio listened with interest, taking note especially of the properties of fairy dust and the earthy magic of the Indian chief. A plan was slowly forming in her head; farfetched at best, but even Papa had conceded once that there was no such thing as a foolproof plan. But with the positively unheard-of weaponry these beings had, farfetched would work with them more than against them.

When there was a break in the general hubbub, Yulio raised her voice, which Tootles translated excitedly. "Yulio says she has a plan!" Suddenly, a flock of seagulls took flight near the opposite side of the bay, shrieking terror and doom to the sky. Peter flew up until he was fly-sized against the great blue sky, his hand shielding his eyes, peering out in the direction of the Mermaid's Lagoon. He flew back down, breathless with excitement. "Tootles, tell her she's got one minute!"

The _Corback _had finished its circle around the island, taking rather longer than expected, given how small it was. Had any of the crew still believed in magic, they might have concluded that the island had slowed them down on purpose, to give its defenders time to organize and make ready. But as it was, they all concluded that it was the thoroughness of their captain, not wanting to miss a thing.

He had been gazing intently at the shore the entire time, and he started with surprise as the _Corback_'s close passage beside a small lagoon disturbed a tremendous flock of seagulls, which took wing and made a pillar of white in the sky. "Damn," Scarett cursed, and then he abruptly reconsidered his anger. The seagulls would surely draw the attention of the enemy, and perhaps reveal their whereabouts. Sure enough, he saw a brown human-shaped speck in the sky; another flying child; peering intently at the lagoon, and Scarett was certain that the boy had seen them. He watched the child fly down to the bay, the very place they had left.

Scowling, he whirled around. "Helm!" he barked, "Head for that bay. Once there, block the entrance; I don't want anything to get out!" He gritted his teeth as he turned back to the periscope, where the entrance to the bay was fast approaching. "There'll be no escape for you this time, Zorndyke. Or your twisted mockeries of humanity. Their blood will be on your hands."


	7. Finders Keepers

Peter led his group of Lost Boys high into the sky like a mismatched flock of birds, looping and twisting and making as much m

Peter led his group of Lost Boys high into the sky like a mismatched flock of birds, looping and twisting and making as much movement as they could. Nibs spotted the dark shape of the submarine as it pulled in front of the entrance to the bay, where it stopped and waited. "Look at the size if it!" he yelled.

"Good Heavens!" John cried out. "How much larger they have made it! It could probably hold everything in Neverland that breathes and still have room!"

"That doesn't look so tough!" shouted Curly with a laugh. "Why it looks just like a big ol' fish!" He cartwheeled in the air and began pulling faces at the 'fish'.

Wendy and Michael watched the antics from the shore of the Mermaid's Lagoon, safe and calm with the mermaids still locked in their dwellings. "Are they gonna get shot, Wendy?" Michael asked anxiously. Wendy squeezed Michael's small hand, her eyes never leaving the forms darting around in the sky. "We can only hope that they won't, Michael."

"Look out!" Slightly cried as the submarine rose just slightly out of the water, a rather muted blast sounded, and two long dark objects streaked toward them from the submarine, trailing a long line of puffy white smoke as they came.

"SCATTER!" Peter yelled, and the lost Boys all flew outward and away, feeling the whoosh of the air as the missiles flew by them, whipping their hair about and making their ears ring with the roar. As one they turned and watched as the missiles began to descend toward the forest on the other side of the island. Just as it seemed they would touch the trees, they suddenly seemed to bounce off of something and veer off course, landing harmlessly in the water far behind the island. Seconds later, the detonations sent gigantic pillars of water up into the sky like giant fingers. 

John's jaw dropped. "If those had hit the island-!" Peter let out a long whistle, his eyes wide. He remembered the plan, and to him, he and his boys had apparently been given the most dangerous task.

"Peter, take your Lost Boys in the air near the entrance to Kidd Creek Bay. There you will distract the enemy and see if you can make them use up as much of their firepower as they can. You will know when to stop."

"Be careful," Yulio had warned through Tootles, "The missiles fly really fast."

Peter had scoffed at the idea of anything that flew faster than he did, but as he watched the plumes of water rain back down to the ocean, boy! That had been one fast-flying hunk of metal. Grinning from ear-to-ear, he vowed that he would race the next pair that came along. No hunk of metal would outfly the fastest boy in Neverland!

Scattered throughout the treetops like so many decorative baubles, half of the entire population of fairies paused to catch their breath, or let out the breath they'd been holding as the missiles had come winging directly toward them. Many shakily lowered their arms and willed their depleted magic to return faster.

Queen Titania hovered just at the top of the trees, looking powerful and regal to her subjects, especially after what had just transpired. The Indian chief's words echoed in her mind. "Queen Titania, take half your subjects and do whatever you can to protect the island. See that no more of the submarine's destructive objects hit it, or there will be more places as black and desolate as this beach."

She had scattered fairies all over the island, positioning scouts to locate the missiles and where they would try to hit, the fastest-flying as messengers to relay the location to all nearby fairies that could help, and then to band together and pool their magic to create a barrier that apparently could thwart the horrible explosive metal chunks. A pretty well-conceived system, but it worried her not knowing how long it would last. Nobody, not even the strange and hideous sea creature who seemed to know the most about their common enemy knew just how many of these things the submarine could throw. She hung on to the fact that as soon as the other half of her subjects had carried out their part, they would make all speed to join their kin here and aid in Neverland's protection. Hopefully they would still have enough magic to help out and give the ones here a rest. She shook her head. Too much relied on hope and speculation for her liking.

"Here come two more!" A scout called out, and by the time the second pair of missiles got anywhere close to the trees, the fairies were already forming another invisible barrier, wincing collectively as the pair of missiles bounced off and splashed into the sea, going off and showering the closest trees in a fine mist. Titania shook her head, but this time she clenched her small hands into fists. She and her subjects would hold out, for as long as it took. This was their home, and they would defend it.

Tinkerbell watched the second pair of missiles rise high in the sky, her mouth hanging open. Not at the missiles themselves, but at the little dot of brown that zoomed up alongside the nearest one and actually started to race it! He pulled away as it began to descend, and as she saw him move to join the other boys, she could just hear him crowing. "You silly ass!" she yelled passionately, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. Of all the times to be fooling around!

"Tink, come on!" one of the fairies called, and she sighed grumpily and turned her attention back to her own part of the plan. She and the rest of the fairies were gathered over and around Hook's ship, slowly flying in circles, lines and various other patterns. Each fairy had a bag of fairy dust, and as they flew, they tossed handfuls down until it fell onto the ship like golden rain.

On board the ship, watching from inside the door leading to the ship's insides were Hook, the pirates, and the Indians. They stayed sheltered lest a stray bit of dust land on someone and cause them to fly, which would at the very least hamper the plan. At the moment, they only needed one thing up in the air.

The fairies began to fly faster, stirring up the dust until it settled onto the sails, the masts, and the ropes. The crow's nest looked as though it was covered in golden frost. The gleaming back of Long Tom glittered. Each and every board and plank shimmered as dust settled into the cracks and knotholes. A small puff of it blew toward the open doorway where everyone was watching, but it did little more than cause a few to sneeze.

Finally, a hundred tiny voices could be heard outside, chanting and causing wind to waft around and billow out the sails. The ship suddenly lurched, and everyone had to grab onto something to steady themselves. Hook ended up grabbing onto Cookson's oily shirt, and when the ship steadied, he made a face of extreme distaste as he withdrew his hand and wiped it on Smee's tunic.

Tinkerbell suddenly flew into view. "It worked everyone! Come and see!" She fluttered off without another word, and the lot of them tentatively stepped out onto the open deck. At first, it looked like nothing was amiss, but then the ship gave out a groan of protest, and it tilted its nose just slightly to the heavens. Now everyone could see that the island seemed several feet lower on the horizon. Smee leaned over the side, and came back up quickly. "Oh bejeebers, Cap'n! We're skyward, we are!" Everyone rushed to the side and peered down, where the ship cast a huge shadow in the waters, and not a single ripple wrinkled the surface. 

Tiger Lily and Hard to Hit were pointing at everything and smiling. Chief Great Big Little Panther stood near the bow, looking solemnly toward the bay mouth. Hook did likewise, sharing the chieftain's solemnity. The pirates looked anywhere from awed to terror-stricken. Mullins had a death grip on the main mast, his face most decidedly green. "Gaaaaah, a ship's fer sailin' on waters, not cursed clouds." Seeing one such cloud actually touch the tip of the main mast, he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. 

The fairies had gone as soon as they had seen the ship airborne, gone to help their fellows in protecting the island. In no time at all, Peter and the Lost Boys joined the ship, looping around in the air and shouting to the group on deck.

"This is as close to me as you'll ever get, Captain Codfish!"

"Hey Hard to Hit! Isn't the view the greatest from here?"

"Don't lean over like that, Cookson; it's slightly tempting me to get behind you and boot you right over!"

"Billy Jukes! Maybe you should have-"

"Caught a fairy that time when Hook-"

"Wanted his flying machine!"

Jukes waved his dagger half-threateningly at the twins until Smee wobbled over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Explain it ter me agin' lad; why are we flyin' about like a great seagull, whilst the enemy's below us?"

"It's all part of the plan," Jukes explained as he turned to Smee. "Since we can't fight it head on, we have to fool it and make it vulnerable. We're here to make it look like we're all trying to make a break for it; hopefully that'll make them leave the island alone and pay attention to us. When we land a ways out to sea, the submarine will hopefully turn itself sideways to fire its underwater cannons at us to keep us from getting away. We'll land closer to it so that it will want to turn itself instead of run toward us."

Smee didn't look any less confused. "But then what's to stop the thing from firin' on us an' blowin' us to splinters once it's turned?"

Jukes sighed and looked down at the waters below, the huge submarine hovering below like an ominous bluish-purple shadow. "Hopefully, she will."

Yulio watched the flying ship with her mouth open until it was nearly over the entrance to the bay, then she dropped beneath the surface and smoothly swam out toward the bay mouth. She held in her teeth the top of a leather pouch, about the size of a money bag. Despite its bulky size, it weighed almost nothing, and as she pulled it along, it did little to hamper her swimming. She could still see the chieftain handing her the pouch. "Child of the ocean," he had said, "Take this sand, infused with a magic that will seal any hole with an unbreakable force. Throw it into the holes of these underwater cannons, and their weapons will cause harm no more." 

She hadn't said, though she was sure she didn't need to, that if the sand worked, and they tried to fire the torpedoes with the holes plugged, the resulting explosion would make the destruction to the beach seem like a candle wax burn. Hopefully that end of the submarine would be far enough away from the island to do any damage. Yulio's eyes dimmed. Too much to hope for in a plan, but all that lot had known the odds when they agreed to it.

She let her thoughts wander momentarily. She didn't belong here any more than Scarett and the _Corback_. She was helping to destroy the only link she could have to the place she came from, for she knew with a sad certainty that the accident that had brought her here was a one time event, and that she would probably never see her world again. 

Still, what else could be done? Striking a bargain with the humans of her time was unthinkable with such mutual hatred between them, and even though this island paradise was not hers, it was home to friends, people she cared about. Images of Crooked Tail and Tootles filled her mind, calming her, and then she suddenly realized that the image of Crooked Tail had suddenly come to life right before her eyes. She blinked in surprise and nearly dropped her sand pouch as the green-skinned mermaid pulled out in front of her in her chariot.

"Mind if I join the fun?" she asked with a sly wink. Yulio reached up and took the bag from her mouth, freeing it up to speak. "I need to get this sand into the torpedo holes in the submarine. Is there any way you can make it hold still for just a minute or two?"

Crooked Tail smiled, showing pearly white teeth that sharply contrasted with the rest of her face. "Easy as seaweed pie, hon." She descended from her chariot and pulled out a golden comb, set with what appeared to be green saltwater pearls. She plucked one off, dug a small hole in the sand on the sea-bottom, and covered it up. She hovered over it and began to chant, wriggling her long-nailed fingers and gesturing for Yulio to continue toward the submarine. As Yulio began to swim away, she just caught Crooked Tail's parting shout. "You should speak more often, sweetie; your voice is lovely!"

"Sir! They all appear to be running away!"

Scarett squashed the urge to belt the crewman upside the head for stating the painfully obvious, but his attention remained on the flying ship. He had seen the cloud of golden glitter surrounding it moments ago, but not believing in fairies, he could only guess as to what it was; some sort of chemical or gas perhaps, causing objects to become weightless? Zorndyke WAS a brilliant scientist, responsible for such miracles as wheat that grew in the desert and corn that grew in the deepest snow. As well as a host of other less beneficial but no less astounding creations. It was entirely possible that he had created such a thing.

The thought only infuriated Scarett even more. _More toying with nature, more weapons to help wipe out humanity with. No longer,_ he thought, _this ends here and now. _

He watched the trajectory of the ship and saw where it was going to land. It struck him as curious that they would land so close. Perhaps the chemical only kept things airborne for a short while? No matter; it would be lost at sea like everything else on the island.

"Helm! Turn hard to starboard and aim rear torpedoes at that ship! Fire when ready!"

The submarine shifted slightly in compliance, and then suddenly halted, sending everyone shifting almost out of their seats, and causing Scarett to grab the periscope for balance. "What happened?!" he barked.

"Sir, the propellers appear to be….tangled, sir."  
"Tangled?! In what?!"

Yulio almost laughed as she approached the rear of the submarine. Seemingly out of nowhere, long strands of seaweed as thick as her arm had grown up from the ocean floor, reaching up and holding the propellers fast in its slimy grip. Hoping the crewman manning the radar would be too busy to notice a fish-like blip, she swam as fast as she could toward the sub's rear.

When she got there, it was easy enough to dodge the stuck propellers, and she soon found herself facing one of the enormous torpedo holes. Images danced before her of her last moments in her own world; her and her sisters at work plugging up torpedo holes just like these. She looked to her right, half expecting to see one of her sisters hard at work at the hole across the way. Seeing nothing there reminded her of the perilous present, and she quickly opened the bag and threw a large handful of the unremarkable-looking sand deep into the dark hole. At first, nothing happened. Then, from deep within the hole, a shimmering light appeared and grew. It seemed to get brighter as it grew, and soon Yulio had to bring up her arm and shield her eyes. Suddenly, the glow was gone, and so was the hole; she was facing a completely blank sheet of metal. It was as though the hole had never been there.

She drew in her breath excitedly, and then gasped as she saw an entirely different light approaching from the side of the submarine, along with the whirr of smaller propellers. She mouthed the word Grampus and quickly swam to the other side of the submarine, where she half swam, half crawled to the top and peered down from beside the sub's enormous tail.

The Grampus approached the propellers, its pincer-like hands all business as it began to pull the seaweed away, staying clear of the stuttering propellers. It seemed like no time at all before the propellers were free enough to chop the rest of the seaweed to pieces, and the sub was free once more. Yulio felt the pull of the water as the sub slowly began to move, and when she was sure the Grampus was heading back to the submarine's inside dock, she swam back down to the holes. Apparently the Grampus' driver hadn't noticed there was one less torpedo hole; so much the better.

Swimming hurriedly and making sure not to get her fins or hair too close to the propellers, Yulio swam to the three remaining holes and threw sand in each. They all shimmered and vanished, leaving a sub with what to her was an odd-looking backside. Smiling in spite of herself, Yulio let the slimy and now-empty bag drift to the ocean floor as she swam as fast as she could back to the Mermaid's Lagoon to watch what happened next.

As fate would have it, the _Corback_'s radar had happened to pick up such a blip on the screen while Yulio had been swimming to and from the submarine. The crewman at the radar had been too captivated by the flying ship to pay much attention to the radar the first time, and the second time he blinked as the radar held a small bio signal for a split second, then frowned as it vanished. "Probably just a fish," he muttered to himself, just as Scarett walked by his station. Scarett's eyes narrowed at the crewman's statement, but instead of demanding an explanation, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked quickly out of the bridge and deeper into the _Corback_.

The _Jolly Roger_ gave a final lurch as it touched down into the water, bringing everyone on board to their knees. Mullins, already on his knees before the ship landed, grumbled something foul about fairies in general and stood up, glad at least that the ship was back on water where it belonged. Peter and the Lost Boys cheered as they flew around, not having to act out their delight. Their friends (and foes) had come out alright, at least for now.

No time was to be lost. Hook knew that the threat in the water behind them could still see them, and so he began barking orders for the crew to hoist the sails and look as though they really were making a break for it. Everyone knew that even though the dash was staged, a little distance from the doomed machine wouldn't hurt either.

Peter flew up as high as he could without seeming like he was flying off on his own and looked at the massive shadow of the submarine as it slowly began to surface, metal gleaming and wet. It was unmistakably turning hard to starboard, aiming it's backside at the vessel. "They're turning around!" he yelled, and whether he was heard or not, the next sound everyone heard would have everyone's ears ringing with noises that weren't there for the longest time.

The submarine had come to a halt, its rear torpedoes aimed directly at the tiny ship. "Captain?" the gunner asked, looking back. "Never mind!" barked the helmsman. "Now's our chance! All rear tubes FIRE!!"

The torpedoes ignited and attempted to eject, but their path of destruction had been blocked by the powerful shaman magic of Great Big Little Panther, and the ingenuity of another. The powerful explosion rocketed through the submarine like an electric current, blowing machinery and opening ways for the seawater to rush in and swallow everything in its path. Slowly but surely, the submarine began to sink.

The explosion was so loud that ripples formed and dashed against the hull of the _Jolly Roger_, not long after the boom shook the entire vessel from stem to stern, even almost causing her to capsize. Everyone felt the foul hot breath of the explosion as it knocked them onto their backsides and even knocked a few Lost Boys out of the sky to splash into the water below. A thick column of smoke and steam rose from where the submarine had been, and they could just see the thing's nose sticking at an odd angle out of the water. Oil began to leak out from it like blood, and Hook looked disturbed at the all-too-familiar sight.

Peter on the other hand was flying in circles around the crow's nest, crowing and dancing victory dances in midair. The Lost Boys all joined him, except Tootles, who flew down and landed beside Great Big Little Panther, joining him in looking sadly out at the destruction. "So that's it, I guess," he said. "If only we could have found another way….."

The chief looked down at the forlorn figure beside him and placed a large sun-browned hand on Tootles' shoulder. "War is not always an evil thing; when you protect your home, your land, it gives you a reason. Wars for the wrong reasons steal away peace; for the right, it brings peace back." Tootles looked up at the wizened face of the Indian chief, and thought he understood, but he wasn't sure, and he didn't know if he ever would be.

Suddenly, the air was filled with what sounded like someone pounding a hammer on metal impossibly fast. Small plumes of water rose up all along the right side of the ship, and holes began appearing so quickly that all everyone could do was stand and blink. Tootles dropped to the deck, pulling Great Big Little Panther down with him, and as everyone on board did likewise, they heard whining overhead like a flock of huge mosquitoes, and similar holes began taking chunks out of the main mast and making Swiss cheese out of the railing.

When the hammering stopped, Tootles sprang up and rushed to the side, peering down at the water. His jaw dropped as he saw a small bluish-white form darting beneath the surface, faster than any fish could swim, being chased by something much larger. Yulio, the smaller of the two forms, thrust her head out of the water and looked at Tootles helplessly.

By now the rest of the group on board had picked themselves up and were now gathered at the ship's starboard side. "Look!" Tiger Lily pointed at the rapidly approaching second form. "What is that thing?!" As if in answer, the thing broke the surface of the water, and seemed to stare at them all like a hostile sea monster. Quite ugly it was, with yellow paint where the metallic gleam wasn't apparent. It looked almost like a manta ray with a humongous blister on the top of its head, but as they watched, long arms ending in pincers rose up out of the water and snapped threateningly at them. Inside what had looked like a blister, one could just barely make out the top half of a man. Tootles felt the breath leave his body. He knew what it was; Yulio had seen them countless times and he, through her memories, had too.

Tootles and Yulio both yelled "Grampus!!" as the machine submerged once more and came at them like a charging bull. Yulio dove under the water and swam off to the right and away from the ship. To everyone's surprise, the thing veered off and began following Yulio's small form as she darted away back toward the bay. "It's chasing her!" Tootles shouted. "Come on! We've got to help her!" Not even bothering to see if anyone was following him, he flew off toward the island as fast as he could fly.

Gone. All of it. Impossibly gone. Alexander Scarett's teeth ground together as he leaned forward in the cockpit of the Grampus, his hands tightly clenching the steering mechanism. He felt his anger boil white-hot within him, and he wondered at how it didn't eat right out of him and liquefy him and the cockpit.

When he had seen the fish-like blip on that stupid crewman's screen, he had known right away what it was, and while the others had been engaged in taking out the rest of the enemy, he had gone to the docks and readied the Grampus. He wanted Yulio all to himself; the devil's spawn that had started all of this mess.

But he had barely cleared the area when the submarine's back end had blown up. He had watched helplessly as it sunk down, picturing all of the crewmen inside, probably all dead as the vessel filled with water and leaked oil like blood from a broken body. He had screamed his denial in the confines of the cockpit, where no one else could hear him, where fish swam by the glass unconcerned, where his rage and anguish was hidden by a world of endless blue.

Suddenly, who should swim out from behind a rock but Yulio. Not even seeing the Grampus, she had come out to watch the submarine sink, in Scarett's eyes, viewing her handiwork. Seeing her there, oblivious to his rage, any semblance of sanity left him, and as he snapped the switch that turned the lights of the Grampus on, he saw her turn her head, as if in slow motion, and all he could see was the face, like so many others he had seen and disfigured; the face of evil, the tool of a human devil, playing God and recreating the world as he saw fit, and damn what everyone currently living in that same world thought. Here was a wonderful target for all of the hatred built up inside him, and with a snarl being the only signal, he thrust the steering forward and gave chase.

Now he was chasing her around, the slippery little demon, all over the outskirts of the island. She had gone awfully close to the cursed pirate ship, and he let loose a volley of shot in its direction, watching the holes materialize in the flimsy wooden hull and all of the scum above taking cover. He didn't care if he had hit any of them; he was still focused on the fleeting form in front of him, swimming frantically back toward the island. It didn't matter to him what she did or where she went; he wouldn't relent until she, like the _Corback_, was lying broken on the ocean floor.

Tootles flew hard to keep up, but soon found himself gasping for breath. He was always a fairly slow flyer, and though he willed himself to go faster, his body refused to comply. Already he had trouble finding the two darting forms beneath the choppy sea waves.

More immediate was the problem of what he was to do when he caught up to them. He wasn't strong enough to pull Yulio out of the ocean, and even if he was, that Grampus would just shoot them out of the sky. If he hid her, the man inside would stop at nothing to find her, even if he had to use the machine's pincers to tear Neverland apart stone by stone. Hook's ship was still far away and no match for the thing anyway.

Tootles slammed his fists hard into his head, as though trying to knock himself senseless. "Come on, you fool, think! Everyone's depending on you now! You're the only one who can help……" He strained in vain, and tears welled up in his eyes. Who was he kidding? He wasn't any kind of hero; just the slow one that got left out of everything. His shoulders slumped as he approached the Mermaid's Lagoon. Through his blurred vision, he could just see Wendy and Michael flying up from the shore to meet him, questions forming on their lips. He saw Michael's messy little mop of hair, hair that had once been stained with oil….

Something about that last part started a bell clanging in Tootles' head. He wrinkled his forehead as he probed his mind, trying to figure out why. Oil…..that's what started all this….so much everywhere…..they had gotten rid of it somehow……sent it to…..where Wendy's laugh had gone…..

His head snapped up, his eyes wide and dry of tears. He remembered that adventure! The mermaids had used magic and stolen Wendy's laugh, which outside of her body looked like a glowing golden pearl, tinkling with laughter. The mermaids had tossed it around for a while, and then something else had spotted the tantalizing bit of twinkle…..something that lived deep beneath the Mermaid's Lagoon, and only appeared when something was lost….

Tootles turned and flew away from Wendy and Michael, instead flying back the way he had come, his eyes scanning the horizon intently. He saw the two shadows in the water heading off to the left, and he steeled his nerves and swooped down close to the water until he could feel it dampening his shoes.

"YULIO!!" He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs. It took him a few more shouts before he saw Yulio's head emerge, causing the water to part around her and leaving a wake. She saw Tootles and began to leap in and out of the water like a stone being skipped, so that she could be more above the water and hear him.

Tootles waved his arms and gestured wildly behind him. "YULIO! THIS WAY!! OVER HERE!!" He chewed his lip, and then let out his breath as he saw her change course and shoot straight toward him like an arrow from a bow. Behind her, the Grampus was steadily gaining, and just when it seemed like it would finally catch her in its cruel pincers, she zoomed through the coral and into the lagoon.

Yulio looked up at Tootles, gasping for breath. "Now what?" she called up to him. Tootles gulped and tried to recall what had happened the last time to bring it about. Too late; the Grampus plowed through the coral like wet dirt and in no time had Yulio's right foot caught fast in one of its pincers. It held her up out of the water like a doll and she struggled uselessly. She could almost hear the mocking laughter of the man inside, and for good measure, she bared her teeth and flashed her eyes at the cockpit.

Tootles flew closer to the pair, the word 'lost' playing over and over in his mind like a stuck record. Out of desperation, he cried to the Grampus, "You don't belong here! You're lost! LOST!"

Despite her predicament, Yulio cocked her head at her friend's strange words, but before she could contemplate them further, something else happened. The ground began to quiver, then rumble, then it grew to a roar as the water in the lagoon became choppy. Yulio looked about her frantically. What was happening? Was it an earthquake?

The waters suddenly began to flow in a large circle with the Grampus near its center. Yulio knew a budding maelstrom when she saw one and began keening in fright, thrashing around like a fish in a net. Furthering her panic, she looked down into the very center of the hole in the waters, and fancied she could see a face appearing on the sea bottom, a huge face with a wide open mouth that was sucking all of the water inside of it. A great rumble came from the maelstrom's very heart, and Yulio was shocked to hear a voice, as deep and grating as though the ocean itself was speaking. "Fiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnndddeeeerrrrrsssss, keeeeeeepppppeeeeerrrrrsssss, looooooooooosssseeeeerrrrrrsssssss, weeeeeeeeppppeeeeeerrrrrssss."

Tootles didn't know whether to be frightened or relieved. He had actually done it; he had summoned Wherever, the same spirit that so long ago had seen Wendy's laugh as lost and taken it for its own. Both a place and a spirit, Wherever took great delight in taking anything that it deemed lost and bringing it all to one spot. Not just material objects either; anything from lost childhoods to lost kites would all be gathered there, to remain lost forever. It lurked at the bottom of the Mermaid's Lagoon, appearing so seldom that many forgot it was even there until it opened up its great mouth and swallowed something. Luckily they had managed to breach Wherever and retrieve Wendy's laugh, a perilous journey that could probably not be made twice.

But Tootles only wanted it to take the Grampus, and unless something was done quickly, another lost person would join it. He flew over to Yulio and grabbed her wrists. He pulled with all of his strength until Yulio's cries of panic turned to cries of pain. Still he refused to let go, spray from the maelstrom mingling with his tears as his grip began to slip. Yulio looked down below her, the raging waters spiraling in a deceptively beautiful sea-green pattern, the Grampus at its center with its one claw stretching upward, holding her fast. Her eyes were wild with terror as she turned back to Tootles. "I don't want us to die." Her words were quiet, barely more than a whisper.

Tootles shook his head. " We won't die, but if you're going, so'm I!" But even as he spoke these brave words, he felt himself being pulled along as Wherever began to suck them all in. Seaweed uprooted and mixed its deep green with the lighter green of the water, and suddenly shapes began to drop out of nowhere into the mix; odd shapes, with the gleam of metal!  
Tootles followed the flying bits with his eyes and looked back toward the bay in shock, in time to see every last Neverland fairy flying toward them like a cloud, with the enormous shape of the bent and broken submarine hovering several feet above the water. Even from that distance you could tell that the strain on the tiny creatures' individual magics was enormous, and ever so often several fairies would drop down from exhaustion and land in the water. Behind them, the _Jolly Roger_ and its two longboats were seen, drifting after the cloud and rowing out to pull tired fairies out of the water. 

At the head of the procession, Tinkerbell signaled a halt when the submarine was directly over Wherever's roaring maw, dripping oil into the raging foam. "Don't forget this too!" she called down, and at the drop of her arm, the fairies let go. Down the submarine plummeted, once a great war machine, now just a big chunk of metal. It fell straight down like a dropped needle, its nose falling directly on the Grampus and its vengeful captain.

Both Yulio and Tootles screamed as they felt the inevitable pull, but not only did the impact shock the Grampus enough to release Yulio's foot, but Tootles suddenly felt a strong pair of arms encircle his waist and hold them all up. Tootles turned his head and saw a pair of sparkling blue eyes and messy brown pony tailed hair. He smiled and looked down at Yulio, who returned it, and they all three watched as the mouth of and to Wherever slowly closed, and the waters calmed and settled to their regular tranquil stillness. So clear was the water that they could see straight to the bottom, and a small stream of oil leaked out of the ground in a rainbowy black ribbon and dissipated; all that remained of Scarett and the _Corback_.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

Billy Jukes stood at the _Jolly Roger_'s newly repaired railing, polishing rag in hand. His jet bangs blew away from his face as he looked out to sea, toward the mouth of Kidd Creek Bay and the slowly healing beach.

It would be many weeks before Neverland returned to normal. The fairies were exhausted to a sprite, and needed to rest and replenish their magic before they could take part in fixing anything. But Chief Great Big Little Panther had been an invaluable help; using his earth magic to cleanse the beach of the charred sand and breathing life into the scorched trees. There was nothing he could do about the section of the beach that was blasted away, and it still remained almost gone, a drop off to deeper water.

Mason had wasted no time in getting out his carpenter's tools and repairing the holes the strange machine had made in the hull, the railing and the main mast. As far as Captain Hook was concerned, as soon as the submarine had vanished into the Mermaid's Lagoon, their truce was ended and the ship was his only concern. He had even gone so far as to hold the waterlogged fairies hostage in an attempt to lure Peter Pan down into his clutches. But when Peter Pan appeared holding to his chest what appeared to be a portrait frame, remarking offhandedly that he had found it in Hook's cabin, blown down from behind its curtain because Hook had left the window open, Hook had sputtered and turned several interesting shades before grudgingly exchanging the fairies for the portrait.

After seeing Yulio off into the water, Tootles had been carried off on Peter's shoulders, with Lost Boys flying in formation and cheering. No doubt they were still there holding a grand party, with Tootles for once hailed as the hero. From what Jukes had heard, he deserved it.

He saw a shadow rise up beside him, and recognizing the shape, he didn't turn around. "Still looking out there, lad?" Mullins said in his gruff voice. "You'd better get back ter polishing Long Tom before the Cap'n sees you lollygaggin'." Jukes shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at his friend. "D'you think she's alright?" Mullins frowned and looked back toward the lagoon. He hadn't seen the creature since that day, and if it was all the same to him, he would just as soon never see her again. That one had brought trouble right on her heels, and there was no telling if she would bring more.

He had no way of knowing that the world Yulio had once known was fast dissolving. The war between the human race and Zorndyke and his creatures had come to a cataclysmic end. A human who had come to know one of Yulio's sisters was able to see beyond their creator to the people beneath, and once the human's fleet of submarines had banned together and set out for Antarctica, Zorndyke's known home base, this human had gone on ahead with the intent of speaking with Zorndyke face to face to work out a compromise, for the sake of both sides.

But Zorndyke had known what humanity would do, and that they as a last resort would use nuclear power; the most destructive weapon they had. He had built a machine that had roots burrowed deep into the Earth, and if the humans used their power to take out the base and blow it to bits, the machine would do its devastating work and cause a pole shift, which would destroy any remaining land and make the whole planet an ocean. Mankind would have nowhere to survive and would ultimately perish, while his creations would thrive and make the planet their own. The only thing keeping this machine ready and waiting was the beating of Zorndyke's very own heart.

All this was told to the man who came to visit, and he contacted the humans in their submarines mere seconds before they were to use their nuclear weapons and unknowingly end what small hope they had for their race. Zorndyke had fixed the man with his sad eyes and told him that humans and his children could live together in peace if they just gave each other half a chance. He encouraged the man to go forth and establish contact, to make friends and strive to understand each other. The man understood, but he also knew what had to be done, much as it filled his mouth with bile. Zorndyke, the man whom so many referred to fondly as "Papa", understood too, and offered no resistance. At the end of the encounter, the man had shot Zorndyke, and killed him.

Thus ended the war of the future, and what happened afterward remains to be seen.

Tootles felt as though this was the happiest day of his life. He was allowed a seat next to Peter, and everyone begged him constantly to retell his side of the adventure. To his discomfort, they asked most often for recollections of the strange world that Yulio had shown him. Deep down, he felt that if those images and memories vanished forever and he was unable to remember them, he would not mourn their disappearance.

But incredibly, now that all of Neverland had been threatened and Tootles had been proved right, his word was pretty much law; he could tell them the sky was pink and they would say it must be so. But he knew that come tomorrow, Peter would be in charge again, and he would be the same old Tootles.

No, he corrected himself, he wouldn't be the same old Tootles. Sure he'd still be the last to be picked for games, and the one left behind on adventures, and the one overlooked for everything else. But he knew that a small part of him at least would be forever changed. He had been given a wonderful gift. Through a new friend, he had been able to swim faster than a mermaid, see wonderful things that no human eye ever would, had known what it was like to have brethren who looked at you and saw an equal. And best of all, he had a new friend, someone who he knew would never leave him out.

Billy Jukes continued to watch the gentle lapping of the bay and wonder. He and the rest of the pirates had been too far back to see what had happened to the creature, and in the ensuing ruckus with Peter Pan and Hook's picture, it had been shoved from his mind until now.

He felt a sort of kinship with the thing that he couldn't explain. Maybe it was because he had been the first to see the very beginning of this entire adventure, the oil that had thickened the horizon, and he thought it only fair that he saw the end of it. But there was no way of knowing the end without knowing what had become of her.

His concentration was broken as he saw Cookson hauling up a fishnet on the other side of the ship. He had placed it out there earlier that morning, and now he was hauling it up with gusto, tunelessly whistling. Suddenly, Jukes heard his whistling turn to curses, and he casually looked over his shoulder to see what was the matter. Cookson was fuming and holding his empty net up, which showed a gaping ragged hole, like someone had cut the entire bottom half of the net. Or gnawed off, thought Jukes with a grin, as he saw the ragged pieces of twine dangling from the severed ropes.

A strange mewling sound rang out from the water, and Jukes ran over to the other side, where he leaned over as far as he could and peered down. A fish in her mouth and grinning from pointy ear to pointy ear, Yulio looked up at them amidst a multitude of freed fish, rapidly turning fin and escaping back to the open waters.

Cookson leaned over and hurled curses at her in his broken English. "Yoo shtinkin' meen feeshy whooman! I ketch yoo zomeday an' smother yoo in grape leeves!" Yulio dropped her fish long enough to spit a stream of water at him, then she retrieved her catch and dove beneath the waves, rapidly disappearing in the direction of the Mermaid's Lagoon. Jukes smiled wider, quickly walked back to Long Tom and began vigorously polishing it, lest he be caught up in the cook's wrath. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time that Cookson would pull up a shredded fishing net. Maybe he'd get another chance to talk with her yet.

Yulio crawled onto Marooner's Rock, where she casually flicked the bones of the fish she had pilfered into the water, watching them float down and disappear into the wavy forest of seaweed. She looked out at the wide open ocean and sighed. Though she hadn't been told a thing, she seemed to know deep down that her world had changed, and in so doing had given her up for lost and passed her by. She had never heard any fairy tales, and she wondered if this place she had come to, this Neverland, was a place just for things and people whom the world had passed by. Thinking on it that way made it seem more like a new home and less like a chance stop.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a sad swell of sorrow for the life she had lost, especially for the human she had loved as her father, and would never see again. She closed her eyes and began to sing; a sad, wordless melody that floated along the wind and teased the ears of everyone who heard it, causing them to look up for just a moment, but as soon as they tried recapturing it, it had gone.


End file.
